Morocco has become the first North African country to sign a Belt and Road Initiative implementation plan with China, as Beijing steps up its engagement with Africa.
Observers said it meant China could expand its use of Morocco as a link for trade between Africa and Europe, but would focus less on energy and resources trade than was the case in its dealings with other African nations.
Ning Jizhe, vice-chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, signed the cooperation plan with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita on Wednesday.
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Five North African countries - Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco - have signed a belt and road memorandum of understanding, but Morocco is the first to commit to the implementation plan, which details specific cooperation and projects with China, including proposed timetables.
The plan includes the two nations creating joint ventures in the energy industry, and more Chinese investment in Morocco's health, financial and agricultural industries.
Zhang Yuyou, an associate professor in the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at China's Northwest University, said he expected that cooperation between the countries would focus less on the resources trade and more on Morocco's geographical advantages.
"In the past, China's cooperation in the region was mainly with resource-rich countries, but Morocco is an exception," Zhang said. "The cooperation between the two countries can create a less resource-based cooperation model."
Morocco could be used as a transit point for China to link Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, Zhang said, citing the example of Chinese car part makers in Morocco being able to sell parts directly to Europe at low cost.
"Morocco is China's important potential bridgehead in the Mediterranean," he said.
According to China's official data, trade between China and Morocco in 2019 amounted to US$4.7 billion, of which exports from China accounted for US$4 billion.
European countries with which Morocco has geopolitical and historical ties still dominate Moroccan trade and commerce. China was the 14th-largest buyer of Moroccan goods in 2020, behind the likes of Spain, France, Italy, the US and Germany.
Zeno Leoni, an affiliate to the Lau China Institute at King's College London, said the cooperation plan might also have regional potential for China. He said that its cooperation with Morocco was likely to cover only infrastructure and trade, keeping it within the framework of China-Africa cooperation.