The trade fair attracted more than 100 Chinese suppliers and manufacturers from various fields to Casablanca, where exhibitors and visitors fostered new business partnerships.By Morgan Hekking -Dec 18, 2019Rabat – The China Trade Week (CTW) ‘Morocco…...
The trade fair attracted more than 100 Chinese suppliers and manufacturers from various fields to Casablanca, where exhibitors and visitors fostered new business partnerships.
By Morgan Hekking -
Dec 18, 2019
Rabat – The China Trade Week (CTW) ‘Morocco Fair’ celebrated the conclusion of its third installment today, December 18, in Casablanca. The three-day trade fair gathered Moroccan and Chinese professionals in the country’s economic capital with the aim of nurturing new business opportunities.
The trade fair drew more than 100 Chinese suppliers and manufacturers from various sectors including agriculture, electronics, and renewable energy. The participants exhibited 2,000 products to 5,200 visitors, according to the CTW official website. The event also included 15 business-to-business seminars to streamline meetings between exhibitors and visitors.
The event hosted the African Technology Show, a global business-to-business platform showcasing the premiere solutions and technologies that drives the fourth industrial revolution and the global digital transformation.
The trade fair falls under China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI), a framework for organizing multinational economic development and trade. Chinese President Xi Jinping launched BRI and its accompanying CTW in 2013. The trade fair first kicked off in the UAE and arrived in Morocco in 2017.
MIE Groups, a professional exhibition serving organizer, arranged the event. MIE Groups pioneered the channel for Chinese companies to participate in exhibitions throughout the Middle East and Africa, according to MIE Groups official website.
“On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of MIE Groups, we are honored to conclude this year’s CTW season in Morocco by taking part in the CTW and the African Technology Show in Casablanca, a major business hub in the Arab world,” said MIE Groups CEO David Wang at the opening ceremony of the event.
The trade fair celebrated Morocco and China’s 60-year relationship. The two countries established diplomatic ties in 1958 and have worked to further strengthen bilateral relations in recent years.
King Mohammed VI visited Beijing in 2016, officially opening up Morocco for Chinese investments. The visit encouraged the two countries to develop economic and commercial relations.
In February 2018, Morocco and China expressed interest in broadening economic partnerships after the 6th session of the Morocco-China joint committee for Economic Cooperation.
Chinese officials also held talks with Moroccan officials in Rabat in July 2018, expressing interest in Morocco’s fisheries and aquaculture assets.
In September 2018, Moroccan and Chinese officials attended the China-Africa summit in Beijing.
Moroccan officials spoke positively about their participation at the forum. Mohcine Jazouli, minister delegate to the minister of foreign affairs, said that Morocco’s “geostrategic” position and its notable presence in the African continent allow the North African country to play a “central role, as part of its cooperation with China.”
China’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chen Xiaodong, met with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in June 2019.
Yesterday, December 17, Bourita lauded the Arab-Chinese partnership as a successful cooperation model during the opening of the 8th Conference on Arab-Chinese Relations and Dialogue between Arab and Chinese Civilizations.
The inclusion of Morocco in the BRI is an opportunity to “broaden horizons and multiply the opportunities for cooperation and investment between the two countries in several areas,” the minister said in a speech read on his behalf by Director for Asian Affairs and Oceania, Ambassador Abdelkader El Ansari.
China’s Special Envoy for Middle East affairs, Zhai Jun, maintained that the BRI will consolidate and develop bilateral relations between China and Morocco.
Original Source: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/12/289225/china-trade-week-3rd-morocco-fair-casablanca/
