China's Xi Jingping in Morocco as Beijing eyes bigger role in Africa's infrastructure boom

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a brief visit to Morocco on Thursday night, where he met with Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan.  

Xi, who was returning from his trip to Brazil for the Group of 20 (G20) summit, arrived in Casablanca on Thursday evening and was greeted by Crown Prince Moulay; the Wali (or governor) of Casablanca, Mohamed Mhidia; the president of the Casablanca-Settat Regional Council, Abdellatif Maazouz; and China’s ambassador to Morocco, Li Changlin, among others, according to Morocco’s state news agency, MAP. The Chinese president was joined by his foreign minister, Wang Yi. 

In the meeting between Xi and the crown prince, Xi reportedly said that “China is ready to work with Morocco to implement the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the 10th ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, and work for more outcomes in practical cooperation across various fields within the framework of Belt and Road cooperation,” a release from Chinese official news agency Xinhua read. 

Over the past few years, China has ramped up its investments in Morocco’s infrastructure, particularly its railways. Moroccan newspapers reported on Friday that China has secured most of the engineering contracts for the expansion of Morocco’s high-speed railway. The project entails a 430-kilometer high-speed railway from Marrakech in the west city, through Casablanca, to Kenitra in the northwest.