On his way back from the G20 summit in Brazil last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a quick, but important, stop in Morocco.
There, he met the 21-year-old Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, with the pair reaffirming their joint commitments to deepen ties between the two countries.
It may have been a flying visit, but it was also a strategic one.
According to observers, Morocco and other countries in the Maghreb region, which takes in western and central North Africa, are pivotal to solving two important issues for China: sourcing critical materials needed in electric vehicle (EV) manufacture and bypassing import restrictions imposed by the United States and Europe.
They said while the Chinese presence in the region had previously been concentrated on Egypt and Algeria, Beijing was now expanding its economic and diplomatic ties into other countries such as Morocco and Tunisia, where relations have been minimal throughout the past decade. Also, China and Libya are in talks to rebuild relations, more than a decade since Chinese companies left following political turmoil in the North African country.
Xi said China’s engagement with Morocco has become “increasingly active”, with Chinese companies stepping up investments in the North African nation’s EV battery and vehicle manufacturing sectors.
