Chengdu, 29 September 2026 — At the “Let’s Go Chengdu” Morocco Market Opportunity Matching & Exchange Salon held at the China-Europe Centre in Chengdu, GCCVest Founder and Managing Partner Ben Jelloun met Sichuan manufacturers, banks and service providers exploring Morocco as their gateway to Africa, Europe and the wider MENA region. The event was hosted by the Chengdu Foreign Opening-up and Cooperation Promotion Centre under the guidance of the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Commerce, as part of the city’s “Open Chengdu · Connecting the World” programme.
The salon gathered government bodies, banks, and nearly 20 enterprises across diverse industries including supply chain, cross-border logistics, E-commerce, industrials and more. The question on the table: why should an inland Chinese city look to Morocco for its next phase of growth?
Morocco: a gateway to three continents
Morocco sits at the north-western tip of Africa, across the Strait of Gibraltar from Europe. It offers a consumer market of 38 million people and is Africa’s fifth-largest and North Africa’s third-largest economy. More importantly, it is a gateway to Europe, Africa and the Middle East at once.
The momentum is clear. China–Africa trade reached a record USD 348 billion in 2025, up 17.7% year on year. China–Morocco trade passed USD 10 billion in the same year, making China Morocco’s third-largest trading partner worldwide and its largest in Asia.
Morocco’s appeal were summed up as three key advantages working together:
- Location: one of Africa’s closest countries to Europe and a key Belt and Road partner, able to serve European and African markets from one base.
- Market access: free-trade agreements with more than 50 countries, including the EU and the United States, so qualifying “Made in Morocco” goods enter Europe tariff-free. China and Morocco also recognise each other’s Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status, and Chengdu’s rail-sea freight service now runs directly to the ports of Casablanca and Tangier.
- Business environment: mature investment-promotion services, well-equipped industrial parks and strong financial support.
Add to this Morocco’s role as Africa’s largest car manufacturer, its reserves of phosphate, cobalt and lithium, and the infrastructure wave around the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco is co-hosting. Speakers pointed to new energy vehicles, smart devices, green and low-carbon industries, and specialty consumer goods as the sectors where Sichuan and Morocco fit best.
Voices from the salon
Youssef Tber, Investment and Export Director at Morocco’s Agency for Investment and Export Development, joined by video with a simple but powerful message for Chengdu’s companies: “Welcome to Morocco!”
Amine Lahmamsi, General Manager of Bank of Africa’s Shanghai branch, said: “We believe Chengdu’s technology, brands and efficiency are highly complementary to Morocco’s location, market and policy advantages.” Participants were also introduced to the welcoming investment environment and on various investment opportunities in Mohammed VI Tangier Tech City.
Tangier Tech City, which Bank of Africa co-develops with China Communications Construction Company, has become a magnet for Chinese manufacturers. Tyre maker Sentury Tire was among the first, with a plant of nearly USD 300 million. It has since been joined by leaders in the electric-vehicle battery supply chain: anode-material producer Shinzoom (~USD 460 million investment), battery-materials maker BTR New Material (~USD 300 million investment) and copper-products group Hailiang (~USD 450 million investment), among many others. The free zone offers attractive tax incentives, including:
Tangier Tech City Free Zones Tax incentives
GCCVest’s role
GCCVest was founded to be a bridge between Asia and the MENA region. During the roundtable, Ben Jelloun joined the companies and institutions sharing their views on cooperation, and met Chengdu enterprises looking for partners, capital and local insight in Morocco.
The salon demonstrated that Chinese companies going abroad need more than a market. They need trusted partners on the ground, access to capital, and introductions to the right government and industrial counterparts. That is the gap GCCVest fills. We support Chinese enterprises through the full journey into the region, from market selection and partner search to investment structuring and long-term growth across Morocco and the wider MENA region. We look forward to supporting Chinese enterprises in building and deepening ties and connectivity between China, North Africa, and the wider MENA region.
GCCVest Partners is a Hong Kong–based, Middle Eastern–backed cross-border asset management firm investing in Asian champions emerging as global leaders while using MENA as a strategic hub for internationalisation. For a conversation on cross-border expansion, joint-venture structuring or localization strategy in the MENA region, reach out to our team via info@gccvest.com or visit our website.