China-Africa Economic, Trade Expo kicks off with Morocco’s Participation

The third edition of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo kicked off Thursday in the city of Changsha (Hunan province, centre), with the participation of Morocco.

The Moroccan delegation taking part in this event held from June 29 to July 2 under the theme “Common Development for a Shared Future”, is led by the minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour.

Organized under the auspices of the Chinese ministry of Commerce and the government of Hunan province, this exhibition is an ideal opportunity for the Moroccan delegation to examine ways of developing cooperation on the African continent, both with Chinese officials and African partners, in order to support Africa’s economic development.

Morocco is taking part in this exhibition with a digital stand highlighting the Kingdom’s African leadership in the economic, commercial, and environmental fields, with particular emphasis on the automotive, renewable energies, pharmaceuticals, and textiles sectors.

The stand also highlights the Kingdom’s efforts to combat climate change and eliminate carbon emissions.

It puts forward Morocco’s position as a key player linking Africa to the world, thanks to the Kingdom’s concrete achievements in terms of infrastructure, its investment in high value-added sectors, its stability consolidating its status as a reliable destination for investment, as well as its political and economic choices which have made the Kingdom a leader among African countries promoting development within the continent.

The Moroccan participation also aims to highlight the Kingdom’s position as a first-class industrial and export platform, with a view to accelerating foreign investments.

In addition, this participation aims to showcase Morocco’s successful experience in economic transformation, which has made the Kingdom a reliable destination with strong investment and export potential.

In this respect, the Moroccan stand showcases the Kingdom’s attractiveness promoted under “Morocco Now” brand, in order to establish a competitive platform capable of improving business climate, particularly in light of the reforms carried out by the Kingdom in accordance with the enlightened vision of King Mohammed VI aiming to consolidate Morocco’s leadership among emerging countries.

The annual China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo’s ambition is to establish a new mechanism for economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, and to serve as a new platform for economic and trade initiatives between the two parties.

This year’s edition features forums on a range of topics, including health cooperation, drug development, and quality infrastructure interconnection.

China is Africa’s largest trading partner and the fourth largest investor in the continent, according to the organizers.

Cooperation between China and African countries is expanding into emerging areas such as digital infrastructure, green development, aviation and space exploration, they added.

The number of exhibitors taking part in this year’s edition has increased by 55% compared to the previous edition, to reach 1,350 exhibitors. The value of potential agreements and other cooperation projects under discussion within the framework of the Expo amounts to 10.7 billion dollars, according to organizers.

According to official data, trade between China and Africa reached 282 billion dollars in 2022, with exports to Africa increasing by 11.2% year-on-year to 164.5 billion dollars, while imports rose by 11% to 117.5 billion dollars.

In the first four months of 2023, Chinese direct investment in Africa reached 1.38 billion dollars, up 24% year-on-year.