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Bekijk Volledige Versie : Marokko en China gaan politieke en economische 'samenwerking' opvoeren.



Dwaalspoor
26-04-06, 04:57
Moroccan trip highlights China's Africa ambitions

26/04/2006 02:45

By Tom Pfeiffer

RABAT (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao, touring Africa to boost trade and political ties, met Moroccan officials on Tuesday on a visit widely seen as offering the continent a rival pole of influence to the West.

After talks in the capital Rabat, Hu left for the north African kingdom’s economic centre Casablanca to visit Morocco’s largest mosque and dine with Prime Minister Driss Jettou.

Analysts say China wants to make its economic weight count for more politically in Africa, where the influence of former European colonial powers is also being challenged by the United States, South Africa and a resurgent Russia.

Some Moroccan analysts also say China is coming to see more commercial opportunities in Africa than just raw materials, and that Moroccan business-friendly reforms have come at just the right time to attract Chinese trade and investment.

"China for Morocco must not be a threat but a model," said Milad Loukili, a Moroccan international relations professor.

Trade between China and Africa has surged in recent years, with China exporting billions of dollars of finished goods in exchange for the energy and minerals its economy craves.

For Morocco, which has no oil, the commercial relationship with China has been a largely one-sided affair.

The value of exchanges has tripled in four years to $1.5 billion but that is mostly due to a flood of Chinese imports.

In the centre of Casablanca, the bustling market of Derb Ghallef has mushroomed into a national hub for cheap Chinese appliances, gadgets and textiles.

"Morocco is without contest one of the principal victims of the spread of Chinese products, in particular in textiles and clothing," the official MAP news agency was quoted as saying by Moroccan Liberation newspaper.

But professor Loukili said Morocco had unexploited export opportunities that could help make the relationship less one-sided, pointing to Morocco’s huge Atlantic fisheries.

"China needs fish and that is one area that can serve as a basis for redressing the commercial balance," he said.

INVESTMENT PLEDGE

Chinese officials have said they will work to boost investment in Morocco. Seven agreements were signed on Monday covering trade, tourism, culture and scientific research as well as the sale of fertilisers and construction materials.

The Chinese offered to train Moroccan textile workers to help support an industry that counts for more than a third of the country’s exports and is still smarting from China’s aggressive push into its vital European market.

They also offered assistance in agriculture and railways.

As some Moroccan commentators have played up the idea of a mutually beneficial relationship in which China shares expertise in exchange for access to markets and political support, Moroccan media have also reported a sudden surge in interest in learning Mandarin among Moroccan business people.

Chinese and Moroccan officials also discussed Taiwan and Western Sahara. China wants to head off Taiwanese diplomatic efforts in Africa, while Morocco hopes China -- a permanent U.N. Security Council member -- will back its plan to grant limited autonomy to the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

The Polisario Front, which waged a low-level guerrilla war with Morocco before a U.N. brokered cease-fire, wants complete independence for the territory.

After meeting the head of the council drawing up Morocco’s proposal, President Hu said China supported a "solution to the Sahara problem that is consensual and achieved through peaceful means and dialogue", MAP reported.

"The Chinese gesture is an encouragement for Morocco and its efforts to rally support for its autonomy plan," a western diplomat told Reuters.

Officials with the Chinese delegation said Morocco had reaffirmed support for its "One China" policy.


http://www.tiscali.co.uk/cgi-bin/news/newswire.cgi/news/reuters/2006/04/26/world/moroccan-trip-highlights-china39s-africa-ambitions.html&template=/news/templates/newswire/news_story_reuters.html

mark61
26-04-06, 08:00
Kortom, van China moet Marokko het zeker niet hebben.

Pytaghoras
26-04-06, 09:10
.... en de troep van china verovert de marokkaanse markt.