On March 6, 2014, the Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco on Mutual Visa Exemption for Diplomatic and Service Passport Holders officially came into effect. Jafar Alge Hakim, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to China, said that the Moroccan Embassy will also issue one-year long-term visas to Chinese businessmen interested in investing in Morocco and is willing to provide necessary assistance. Subsequently, Chinese Ambassador to Morocco Sun Shuzhong revealed that in June this year, the King of Morocco will pay a state visit to China, and it is expected that relevant agreements conducive to bilateral investment between China and Morocco will be reached. It can be seen that the economic cooperation between China and Morocco is gradually heating up, including the textile and garment industry. The textile and clothing industry is the second pillar industry in Morocco. The Moroccan Textile and Garment Industry Association expressed its great hope to find Chinese partners to jointly explore the European and American markets.
As one of the key industries developed by the Moroccan government, the textile industry has a history of more than 100 years in Morocco. Currently, Morocco’s textile industry employs 200,000 people, making it the industry with the largest number of employees in Morocco. Due to geographical and cultural proximity, Europe is the main market for Morocco’s textile industry.
According to Mohamed Tazi, chairman of the Moroccan Textile and Garment Industry Association (AMITH), the annual output value of Morocco’s textile industry is currently about 6 billion euros, of which about 4 billion euros are exported to the European market and 2 billion euros are produced locally. Market sales. It is expected that the local market’s consumption of textile products will grow to 4 billion euros in the next 10 years.
In order to promote the rapid development of the textile industry, the Moroccan Ministry of Industry, Trade and New Technologies announced the 2025 textile industry plan in 2013. The main contents include: increasing production scale, improving and updating production technology, and enhancing regional and international competitiveness, making Morocco Become a model and leading country in the textile field internationally and regionally. Mohamed Taz said: “In order to realize the 2025 textile industry plan, we will sign a letter of commitment with the government, committing to triple Morocco’s textile exports in the next 10 years. China will become a good partner of Morocco, especially in the Spinning, weaving, accessories and other fields will help us achieve our export goals.”
Talking about the investment advantages in Morocco, Mohamed Taz pointed out that Morocco has signed free trade agreements with Turkey, the European Union, the United States and Arab countries, and has gained market access opportunities from these countries, which has promoted Morocco’s cooperation with these countries. bilateral trade between. Chinese companies can enter other markets more conveniently through Morocco.
In addition, he believes that China is comparable to Morocco in terms of business operating costs. “Here, the cost of running a spinning machine for a day is almost the same as in China. The basic salary of Moroccan textile workers is 200 euros per month, including all taxes and fees, which is similar to China. What’s more important is that we are closer to Europe, It is closer to European consumers and can respond faster to market demand.” He also pointed out, “This is also an opportunity for Morocco. Chinese companies can help us improve the industrial chain. Morocco’s textile industry is full of opportunities, regardless of Whether in the field of production or design, opportunities are everywhere.”
Somitex is a textile company located in Kentitra. According to the company’s general manager Youssef Bessa, the products produced by the company are designed in the United Kingdom, produced in Morocco, and then sold to the British market. “Currently, all of our raw materials are dependent on imports, which is also the main difficulty facing the company’s development. Our current production capacity is 3 million pieces per year. If the problem of raw material supply can be solved, the output can at least double to 6 million pieces. .” He said.
At the same time, he said: “Since the company needs to order, pay, and receive goods from different regions during the production process, it consumes a lot of time and energy. However, the company mainly produces fast fashion products, and time is of the essence to us. The most important thing is that the cumbersome process will cause the company to lose many orders. We very much hope that Chinese partners can join. Morocco needs not only financial support, but also advanced textile technology and complete industrial chain support. Because we have Now that we have the production capacity and market, we hope to find some partners to jointly explore the European and American markets.”
In order to attract overseas investment, the Moroccan government is actively formulating more favorable incentive policies. Mohamed Taz said: “Currently, the Moroccan government has promised to return up to 20% of the funds to foreign companies investing in the textile industry. We feel that this is not enough and are negotiating with relevant departments and will provide investors with a higher return amount. and more preferential incentive policies.” At the same time, Morocco’s free trade zone also provides investors with various preferential policies, such as tariff exemption and simplified customs procedures.
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◆The Kingdom of Morocco is an Arab country in northwest Africa, bordering Algeria to the east and southeast, Western Sahara to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and Spain and Portugal across the sea to the north.
◆The textile and clothing industry is the second pillar industry in Morocco, creating an annual output value accounting for 1% of Morocco’sIt accounts for 9% of the GDP and 25% of the total industrial production.
◆Morocco is an important country in the Mediterranean economic circle. It has signed a preferential trade agreement with the EU, and its textile and clothing products export to the EU enjoy a zero-tariff policy. In 2005, Morocco signed a free trade agreement with the United States, and textile and clothing products are also among the duty-free products stipulated in the agreement.
◆In January every year, Morocco holds the Textile and Clothing Industry Exhibition (MarcoTextile). This exhibition is a professional exhibition, and the products on display include various types of fabric accessories and clothing products. Morocco: an important platform to enter the European market
Located at the northwest tip of Africa, bordering Algeria to the east and Spain across the sea to the north, Morocco is known as the “Garden of North Africa” for its picturesque scenery. Walking on the streets of Rabat, the capital, you will deeply feel that the title of “Garden of North Africa” is worthy of its name, and you will also wonder whether you are really in Africa?
The mild climate from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean makes the trees here evergreen all year round and flowers everywhere. The intercity railways and modern highway networks that run through the city are far from people’s traditional impression of Africa.
China-Morocco cooperation has just begun
After getting to know Morocco in depth, I discovered that Morocco and China have many similarities: both countries have a long history and cultural traditions; in order to develop their economies, both countries have implemented drastic reforms; the reforms have brought about rapid economic development and With the significant improvement in people’s living standards, the ideological concepts of the new generation of young people are also experiencing a fierce collision with traditional concepts.
However, so many similarities do not mean in-depth understanding between the two peoples and close cooperation in the economic field. Walking on the streets of Morocco, Asian faces are still unfamiliar to people there; the main streets of Rabat, the capital, are lined with sales halls of car brands from various countries, including European and Japanese ones, but no Chinese ones.
According to Sun Shuzhong, Chinese Ambassador to Morocco, there are currently only about 30 Chinese investment companies in Morocco. It mainly includes two categories, one is information, communications and technology companies represented by Huawei and ZTE, and the other is engineering construction companies. The economic cooperation between China and Morocco has just begun and has a bright future. In terms of tourism, only five to six hundred Chinese tourists visited Morocco in 2013.
Obvious advantages in attracting investment
In fact, as a potential investment destination, Morocco has many inherent and acquired advantages. Morocco has a unique geographical advantage – it is located in northwest Africa, across the sea from Spain in the north, and the nearest point is only 14 kilometers away. This makes Morocco the best platform to radiate the European, American and African markets.
With the help of different free trade agreements, Morocco allows investors to enter the markets of 55 countries duty-free, targeting more than 1 billion consumers and 60% of global GDP. At present, Morocco has signed the Morocco-EU Association Agreement with the EU, has also signed free trade agreements with the United States, Canada and the Arab League, and is in the process of signing the West African Economic and Monetary Union Agreement.
We have world-class infrastructure here. In 2007, the Tangier Mediterranean New Port was officially built and put into use, with a throughput of more than 3 million containers; Morocco’s 15 international airports connect major cities and world economic platforms; the highway network extends in all directions, covering major cities; the telecommunications industry is also One of the fastest growing and best industries in Morocco, accounting for 13% of GDP; in 2015, Morocco will build Africa’s first high-speed railway.
In terms of human resources, Morocco has rich human resources, high education level and strong competitiveness. In order to attract investment, the Moroccan government also provides attractive incentive policies. All of this provides investors with good investment opportunities.
Visa-free agreement promotes exchanges
In 1998, Huawei established an office in Morocco. The company has invested in Morocco for many years, and Morocco is currently Huawei’s largest market in North Africa. Xu Xujing, general manager of Huawei’s Morocco office, said: “Morocco has a big advantage, that is, its geographical advantage. For Chinese companies, they can often cover both the European market and the African market through Morocco. In order to attract investment, the Moroccan government , has also promulgated many preferential policies to help companies enter the European market. However, due to many reasons, Chinese companies do not understand it and miss opportunities.”
In order to promote personnel exchanges between China and Morocco, the Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco on Mutual Visa Exemption for Diplomatic and Service Passport Holders came into effect on March 6, 2014. According to this agreement, citizens of one contracting party who hold valid diplomatic or service passports of their own country are exempt from visa requirements when entering, exiting or transiting in the other contracting party for a stay not exceeding 60 days. Jafar Alge Hakim, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to China, said that the Moroccan Embassy will issue one-year long-term visas to Chinese businessmen interested in investing in Morocco and is willing to provide necessary assistance.
According to Sun Shuzhong, the King of Morocco will pay a state visit to China in June this year, and it is expected that relevant agreements conducive to bilateral investment between China and Morocco will be reached.
