China willing to take into account Moroccan textile interests, official
China is willing to enhance economic relations with Morocco taking into account the economic interests of the North African country, especially in the textile sector, said Yu Guangzhou, Chinese trade vice-minister.
The Chinese official told the 2M TV channel his country is ready to discuss ways to safeguard Morocco's interest in the textile sector, notably, because of the difficulties it faces after the cancellation of quotas, which benefits the Chinese textile industry.
Morocco's imports of Chinese textile-clothing products totalled, in 2004, MAD 922 million (around USD 108 Mn), a rise of 30pc compared to 2003. Footwear imports were estimated at MAD 138 millions at the same period.
To face Chinese competition in the textile sector, the government and the Moroccan Association for textile-clothing industries (AMITH) signed an agreement providing for a series of measures meant to cut production costs, increase investments, improve productivity and create a special fund to upgrade textile-clothing enterprises. Morocco applies customs tariffs as high as 80.25pc on Chinese imports.
Yu Guangzhou, who started Sunday a working visit to Morocco, said his talks with Moroccan officials are to discuss issues on increasing Moroccan exports to the East-Asian country "to cut down the trade balance deficit" detrimental to Morocco.
The two countries last July signed an agreement to reduce the deficit, namely through the increase of Moroccan exports to China, including phosphates and fish.
Last March, Morocco and China agreed to explore oil opportunities in the North African country under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Beijing by the Moroccan "Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines" and CNOOC Morocco, a branch of the China National Offshore Oil Company.
Moroccan imports from China totalled over MAD 1.5b (Euro 135m) in the first two months of 2005, that is an increase of 41% compared to the same period last year. Morocco imported MAD 6.6b (Euro 596m) in 2004, an upsurge of 42% in comparison to 2003.