Morocco ‘explodes’ as hotspot for Chinese investment in electric vehicles and new energy

North African country’s free-trade agreements are luring Chinese companies that hope to avoid EU and US trade restrictions, analysts say

Reading Time:4 minutes

Morocco, home to the Tanger Med port on the Strait of Gibraltar, is already a major car manufacturing hub for European auto giants such as Renault. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00pm, 27 Jul 2024Updated: 3:18pm, 25 Sep 2024

Chinese investment in electric vehicles and new energy in Morocco has “exploded”, according to Beijing’s envoy to the North African country, as companies hope to circumvent tariffs and other import restrictions imposed by the US and Europe.

Chinese ambassador to Morocco Li Changlin said that the country had “become a new hotspot for Chinese companies to invest overseas”.

Construction on a Chinese-backed manufacturing and technology hub is progressing well, according to Li, who visited the Mohammed VI City for Science and Technology last month.

During the visit, Li noted that the US$1 billion tech hub in Tangier, which will host hundreds of Chinese companies, is “an important symbol of the high-quality joint construction of the ‘belt and road’ between China and Morocco”, a reference to the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s plan for global trade and infrastructure.

Observers said Morocco’s proximity to Europe, abundance of critical minerals, and free-trade agreements with both the European Union and the US have attracted a growing number of Chinese companies that have pumped billions of dollars into building electric vehicle battery and EV manufacturing plants.

“Chinese companies have invested heavily in Morocco’s renewable energy, new energy vehicle batteries and other fields, playing a positive role in promoting Morocco’s energy transformation and the development of the automotive industry,” Li said at the tech park, which is being built by Chinese companies led by China Road and Bridge Corporation.

The Chinese envoy also visited the site of BTR Morocco in the Tangier tech city, where Chinese battery maker BTR New Material Group is building a US$300 million cathode factory.