The Crown Prince of Morocco, Moulay Hassan, has received the President of China, Xi Jinping, in Casablanca, following the royal instructions of King Mohammed VI. This meeting confirms the Moroccan kingdom’s important role on the world stage.
The major nations have realised that the Kingdom of Morocco is a major international political and economic player and a reliable partner, and continue to intensify contacts with the North African country. Such is the case of China.
Xi Jinping went to Lima, Peru, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and before returning home he planned a stopover in Morocco to meet Prince Moulay Hassan in Casablanca.
The fact that the Chinese leader made room for Morocco in his agenda after returning from a very important summit shows the international calibre of the North African country for the major international powers, including China.
The Moroccan Crown Prince met with the head of the Asian giant to strengthen relations between the two countries and address various relevant issues. A political move that also makes clear the importance that the young prince is acquiring as he prepares for his father’s succession to the Moroccan throne in the future.
Xi Jinping also met with the head of the Moroccan government, Aziz Akhannouch. Meanwhile, the crown prince and the Chinese president also met with the Wali of the Casablanca-Settat region and governor of the Casablanca Prefecture, Mohamed Mhidia, the president of the Casablanca-Settat Regional Council, Abdellatif Maazouz, the governor of the Nouaceur province, Jalal Benhayoun, the president of the Nouaceur Provincial Council, Mohamed Salmani, and the president of the Nouaceur municipality, Abdelaziz Radi.
The Crown Prince and the Chinese President also met with Li Changlin, Chinese Ambassador to Morocco, Zhou Zhicheng, Minister-Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy, Xia Kelin, Military Attaché at the Chinese Embassy, and Zheng Wei, Economic and Commercial Advisor at the Chinese Embassy.
The Chinese head of state’s entourage included Cai Qi, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and director general of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, and Hua Chunying, vice-minister of foreign affairs.
Moroccan hospitality was demonstrated by the reception of the Chinese delegation with a traditional welcoming ceremony.
The size of the Chinese delegation to Morocco shows that the Asian giant takes Morocco very seriously as an ally and preferred international partner. As do many other international powers, such as the United States, Germany, France and Israel.
Indeed, many of these major nations have far-reaching political and economic partnership agreements with the Moroccan kingdom.
The North African country is a reliable partner on the international scene when it comes to weaving economic and trade agreements, due to Morocco’s role as a gateway to the African market and as a major player on the so-called continental Atlantic coast of Africa.
King Mohammed VI gave clear instructions at the time to boost the continental Atlantic side by facilitating access to the Atlantic coast of Morocco, including that of the Sahara, for various African countries, especially from the Sahel, in order to favour their economies and trade links and generate more wealth in the region. And this spiral can be exploited by nations around the globe to intensify trade flows.
Politically, Morocco is also having a strong geopolitical influence through cooperation with many nations on such important issues as the maintenance of international security and the fight against organised crime and cross-border extremist terrorist groups, or by finding much support for an issue that is vital to the defence of Morocco’s national integrity, namely the sovereignty of Western Sahara.
Morocco has the support of more than 100 countries, including powers such as the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Israel and Spain, in the defence of its Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara, a territory considered by the Moroccan kingdom to be part of its southern provinces.
Morocco proposes for Western Sahara a formula of broad autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, respecting the resolutions of the United Nations (UN), with the aim of developing the area to the maximum in all areas. This initiative is considered by many nations to be the most serious, credible and realistic way of resolving the Saharawi dispute.
In fact, several Moroccan media outlets point out that the Asian giant could establish a consulate in the so-called southern provinces of the Kingdom of Morocco, as the United States, for example, has already announced, which would represent an explicit recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Morocco therefore has a high level of cooperation with many international powers. In the Chinese case, Xi Jinping’s latest visit to Morocco illustrates the depth of the collaborative and friendly relations that bind Morocco and China, thanks to the guidelines in this regard deployed by King Mohammed VI and Xi Jinping, all in order to strengthen the Sino-Moroccan strategic partnership that was clearly established during the last visit of the Alawite monarch to China in 2016.
