Morocco Welcomes China's Zero-Tariff Policy as Trade Ties Deepen

Morocco Sees New Opportunities in China's Expanded Duty-Free Access

Moroccan businesses are watching China's zero-tariff policy with growing optimism, a senior Moroccan journalist told CGTN on Monday, as Beijing's expanded duty-free access for African exports begins to reshape the commercial landscape of North Africa. Yassin Benjelloun, a journalist with the Moroccan Public Broadcasting Company, said the zero-tariff treatment China now applies to Morocco is being welcomed as businesses see new opportunities to deepen and diversify global trade partnerships.

The remarks arrive at a pivotal moment for the China-Morocco relationship. The two countries are marking the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership in 2026, and the first session of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) ever held on African soil took place in Casablanca in June, bringing buyers, officials and industrial delegations together under one roof.

What the Zero-Tariff Policy Delivers

The policy at the center of the interview is a landmark in China's trade diplomacy. Since May 1, 2026, China has granted zero-tariff treatment to exports from 53 African countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Beijing, a measure President Xi Jinping announced in February. China has described itself as the first major economy to provide unilateral, full-coverage zero-tariff access to all African countries with diplomatic ties, alongside all least-developed countries with diplomatic relations.

The arrangement extends an earlier program that covered 33 of Africa's poorest economies to larger partners including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Morocco. The single notable exclusion is Eswatini, which does not have formal diplomatic relations with Beijing. African officials have called the policy transformative, arguing that it gives the continent's producers a structural advantage in the world's second-largest consumer market while encouraging Chinese companies to buy more from the continent rather than treat it only as an export destination. Beijing has matched the tariff opening with supporting measures such as Green Lanes that speed customs clearance for African agricultural products and a series of bilateral economic-partnership agreements designed to make the preference usable in practice.

Trade Numbers Show a Deepening Morocco-China Relationship

The scale of the existing relationship explains why the tariff move matters so much in Rabat and Casablanca. Two-way trade between China and Morocco reached $10.96 billion in 2025, up from $9.04 billion in 2024, according to Xinhua. China exported $9.88 billion worth of goods to Morocco last year while importing $1.08 billion, and Beijing has remained Morocco's third-largest trading partner globally and its largest trading partner in Asia for many consecutive years.

Moroccan exporters are already positioning for the new access. The country's argan oil industry, which produces a premium cosmetic and food ingredient prized in Chinese wellness markets, has been preparing for what producers hope will be a commercial breakthrough under the zero-tariff regime, with CGTN reporting in May that the sector sees the policy as a direct opening into a vast consumer base.

Casablanca Expo Brings the China-Africa Marketplace to African Soil

The Casablanca session of the CAETE, held from June 10 to 12, was organized by central China's Hunan Province and marked the first time the expo, launched in China in 2019, traveled to the African continent. Featuring targeted business-matchmaking mechanisms, the event was designed to translate the dividends of the zero-tariff policy into practical cooperation results, according to Nasser Bouchiba, president of the Africa China Cooperation Association for Development.

Moroccan analysts framed the expo as a bridge for mutual benefit. Jawad Kerdoudi, president of the Moroccan Institute of International Relations, called the zero-tariff policy a mutually beneficial strategic move that could help reduce Africa's trade deficit with China, attract more Chinese investment, and bring capital, technology and jobs to the continent. Mohamed Khalil, president of the Morocco-China Friendship and Exchange Association, said the event would promote policy synergy and industrial matchmaking. Morocco has seen a marked acceleration in Chinese investment in new energy, green technology and textiles in recent years, with major projects already launched across the kingdom.

For Japan, China's Africa Push Raises the Competitive Stakes

For Japanese policymakers and business leaders, the widening Chinese trade footprint in North Africa sharpens a competition that has been building for years. Japan has engaged Africa through the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) since 1993, and the ninth edition, held in Yokohama in August 2025, marked a strategic pivot from aid-based engagement toward private-sector-led collaboration focused on critical minerals, clean energy and youth empowerment.

Yet the numbers illustrate the asymmetry. Africa accounted for only 0.5 percent of Japan's foreign direct investment by value in 2024, according to data from Japan's Ministry of Finance cited by the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, and Japanese firms invest far more in Singapore alone than across the entire African continent. Japan's engagement has favored infrastructure and human-resource development through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, a model built on long-term partnerships rather than immediate market access. China's zero-tariff policy now offers African exporters a cost advantage inside the Chinese market that no comparable Japanese instrument matches, even as Japanese trading houses and manufacturers compete with Chinese suppliers for African infrastructure, automotive and electronics contracts.

For Japanese exporters, the stakes are concrete. Morocco has built one of Africa's most developed manufacturing bases, with expanding automotive and aerospace clusters that serve European supply chains. If Chinese investment follows the tariff opening into Moroccan industry, Japanese companies that currently compete in North African markets and in Europe's automotive supply chain will face a better-capitalized Chinese presence backed by preferential trade access at both ends of the route.

A Test of Whether Trade Preferences Can Reshape Africa's Export Base

The policy is also a live experiment in trade economics. African economies have long exported raw commodities while importing manufactured goods, a pattern that leaves the continent exposed to price swings and widens its trade deficit with China. Analysts in both Beijing and Rabat argue that zero-tariff access, combined with Chinese investment in local processing, can help African producers move up the value chain.

China has paired the tariff measure with supporting infrastructure, including Green Lanes that expedite customs clearance for African agricultural products and a series of bilateral economic-partnership agreements. Whether the combination can shift the structure of Africa-China trade, rather than simply boost volumes, will depend on how quickly African industries can meet Chinese quality, packaging and food-safety standards - a constraint that has historically limited agricultural exports even when tariffs were low.

What to Watch For

Several milestones will test the durability of the new trade architecture. A China-Africa forum in September, tied to President Xi Jinping's scheduled visit, is expected to add political momentum to the economic agenda, and follow-on CAETE sessions could bring the expo to other African countries after its Casablanca debut. Moroccan exporters, particularly in argan oil, agriculture and phosphates, will provide an early read on whether zero-tariff access translates into measurable export growth.

For Japan, the question is how to answer. Tokyo's next TICAD cycle, the planning for which will unfold over the coming years, faces pressure to convert its development partnerships into the kind of market-access advantages China is now offering unilaterally. Japanese companies eyeing Africa will be watching the Morocco experiment closely, because the kingdom sits at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and the Middle East - and increasingly, of the world's two largest economic powers.

By Kenji Tanaka, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: CGTN, Xinhua, China Daily.