At the heart of China’s New Silk Roads initiative, Morocco is asserting itself as a strategic hub linking Africa, Europe and the Arab world. With $6 billion in trade in 2022 and major projects like Tanger Tech, this promising partnership is accompanied by economic and geopolitical challenges in light of another Trump mandate against the backdrop of a trade war.
Economic relations between Morocco and China are experiencing remarkable growth, driven by a common strategic vision and opportunities for collaboration in key sectors. Since the establishment of their strategic partnership in 2016, the two countries have increased cooperation agreements, making Morocco a pillar in China’s New Silk Road strategy. In 2022, trade between the two nations reached nearly $6 billion, positioning China as Morocco’s third trading partner, behind the European Union and the United States. This dynamic reflects a shared desire to strengthen investments and develop modern infrastructure to facilitate economic flows.
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Morocco occupies a strategic place in the Chinese “New Silk Roads” project thanks to its exceptional geographical location, at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Casablanca, Tangier and Nador are emerging as major logistics and commercial hubs. Large-scale projects such as the Mohammed VI Tanger Tech city, an industrial park intended to accommodate Chinese companies, illustrate Beijing’s ambition to make Morocco a bridgehead for its trade with Africa, a continent considered as a priority for China. At the same time, Morocco is banking on this cooperation to boost its industrial development strategy and strengthen its transport infrastructure.
However, while this partnership offers many opportunities, it also raises economic and geopolitical challenges. At a time when the world is marked by enormous competition on the economic level, and especially the return of American protectionism, Morocco, in the coming years, can become an area of commercial competitiveness for international powers.
Trumpism and the return of the trade war?
Trump’s first term was marked by the emergence of the trade war with Beijing where the Chinese juggernaut Huawei was the target of American protectionism. Back at the White House, we seem to be back for another episode. Especially at a time when China is asserting itself more economically. For example, in the vehicle sector of tomorrow, China is a true global leader, with annual sales of battery electric cars (BEV) increasing from around 10,000 units in 2012 to 4.4 million in 2022 ( an increase of 44,000%), according to Statista.
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Even if this dynamism could present business opportunities in certain regions of the world, in others, the time has come for protectionism. The observation is that Chinese exports of electric vehicles are facing increasing protectionist policies in Europe and the United States. The EU Green Deal and its open strategic autonomy policies aim to protect industrial supply chains and reduce their dependence on China. In the American neighbor, the American Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) encourages “friendshoring” and against China to dominate Western supply chains in the electric vehicle and battery markets. Faced with these barriers to entry, China is forced to play the outsourcing card.
Morocco, an alternative…
“Morocco, as part of its transport sector decarbonization strategy, plans to create a truly competitive electric vehicle industry. The proximity to Europe and the entry into force of the future carbon tax at the beginning of 2026 are pushing investors to turn to other markets such as Morocco. A battery manufactured in India or China, for example, will cost more to enter the European market than a battery manufactured almost 10 km from the borders,” one of our sources tells us. In light of its strategic positioning and especially the dynamic economic cooperation that links the two countries, Morocco also has a mature automotive ecosystem among the most advanced in Africa, rail and road networks, a workforce competent work and a very smart regulatory framework. It should also be noted that Morocco has been a member of the Chinese “Belt and Road” initiative since 2017 after signing a strategic partnership agreement with China during the visit of King Mohammed VI to Beijing in 2016.
Economic diversification
Morocco, in recent years, has been part of an economic diplomacy open to possibilities. Spain, France, the USA, the United Kingdom, China, Africa… Morocco’s economic relations are open to a wide horizon. For example, the typical TGV project is an example of this vision of Morocco, where we can find various actors, including the Chinese partner. With Covec, there are nearly four Chinese companies designated to date to carry out the civil engineering work for the future LGV. We have, among others, CRCC 20, China Railway No.04 Engineering and Shandong Hi-Speed Engineering-Construction. It must also be remembered that as an emerging nation, with its ambitions on the international scene, Morocco is in a strategic position of openness. In one of these reports, the IRES think tank looked into the subject.
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“With an open economy that is diversifying, with modern infrastructure (Tanger Med Port, airports, TGV, etc.) and thanks to its partnerships with Europe and the United States, Morocco, as a regional hub, can play an active role in the deployment of the New Silk Roads. In addition, due to their proven experience in African markets, Moroccan companies could be partners of choice for Chinese companies,” explained the IRES study.
