Chinese premier proposes creation of Moroccan-Chinese joint ventures
Morocco-China, Economics, 8/30/2002

Chinese Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, has proposed the creation of Moroccan-Chinese joint ventures to manufacture in Morocco China-made products destined to be exported to other countries.

Rongji who disclosed that he made the proposal to his Moroccan peer Abderrahmane Youssoufi at a meeting in Casablanca Wednesday evening with executives of the Confederation Generale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM/employers' association) said such a cooperation will offer several advantages to Morocco in matters of investment promotion and jobs generating.

He said China-made products are "very competitive" on the international market, mainly in the sectors of light industry, textile, computer equipment and telecommunication.

Zhu Rongji who pointed out that cooperation in economics, trade, culture, education and health is fruitful and that bilateral economic and trade cooperation has made progress in recent years said "the excellent cooperation in fisheries" must serve as a model of mutually beneficial cooperation in other sectors.

He also called the two countries' private sectors to foster their relations and proposed the holding in Morocco of an exhibition of Chinese products, mainly electronic and household appliances.

Vice-chairwoman of the CGEM, Ms Saida Lamrani Karim, noted that despite a 44 percent increase of the volume of trade exchange between Morocco and China during the first half of 2002, much remains to be done at the level of economic cooperation which "is not up to our expectations and ambitions," she said.

She called for promoting a Moroccan-Chinese partnership in the sectors of tourism, new information technologies, fisheries, and ship building.

She said that the Tangier Off-shore zone provides many advantages to Chinese operators wishing to localize their business and that Morocco, given its privileged geographic location, can be a platform to promote exchanges between Africa, Asia and Europe. The Chinese market which offers huge opportunities to Moroccan products can be a relay-outlet towards other markets in Asia, she said.

Bilateral trade between China and Morocco reached US$ 384 million in 2001, up 14.3 percent year on year.

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