—Summary of the 2026 China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Africa (Morocco)

On the eastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean lies Casablanca. From June 10 to 12, the 2026 China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) in Africa (Morocco) was held here, bringing together over 400 government and business representatives from China and Morocco, with a 7,000-square-meter exhibition area bustling with exhibitors and visitors engaging in vibrant exchanges. This milestone event marks Hunan's first major overseas economic and trade initiative in Africa since China fully implemented a zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, holding special significance.

As a key national-level platform for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, CAETE was established in Hunan in 2019 and has been held for four sessions to date, with a cumulative total of 512 signed projects amounting to 64.71 billion USD.

To deepen China-Africa cooperation and broaden channels for collaboration between local governments and businesses, CAETE launched a series of events in Africa in the years between expo sessions starting in 2024. These events were held in Kenya and Nigeria, and Morocco has been chosen as the first overseas stop this year.

Venturing across the oceans to North Africa, Hunan's mission boiled down to three goals: using Morocco as a gateway, taking root in the region, and pursuing shared growth.

Using Morocco as a Gateway to Africa

Why Morocco

Morocco enjoys a uniquely advantageous geographical location.

Morocco lies at the crossroads of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and is one of Africa's closest points to Europe, earning it the title of the "Gateway to North Africa." For enterprises aiming to simultaneously enter European, North African, and even American markets, Morocco serves as a natural "springboard."

The value of this "springboard" extends far beyond its geographical location.

Morocco is Africa's second-largest industrial country, with its economy maintaining steady growth for consecutive years. Morocco was the first African nation to build a high-speed railway system. Its manufacturing sector is relatively diverse, and its investment policies are open and inclusive.

With Morocco's development needs and Hunan's industrial strengths complementing each other, the two sides are highly aligned in terms of supply and demand.

Morocco holds 70% of the world's phosphate reserves and is actively building the electric vehicle battery industrial chain. Hunan is China's largest production base for lithium battery cathode materials, forming a complete industrial chain of "materials—batteries—complete vehicles."

Morocco is accelerating its energy transition and industrial upgrading. In the first five months of this year, Hunan's exports of the "new three" products—electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products—to Africa reached 620 million CNY, an increase of 104.6%, with those to Morocco surging 375.4 times.

Morocco is speeding up the expansion of its railway network and industrial development. Hunan is home to China's largest, most comprehensive, and best-developed rail transit equipment industrial cluster, and Changsha is world-renowned as the "Capital of Construction Machinery," boasting strong capabilities in intelligent manufacturing.

Shen Yumou, director of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, noted, "Although Hunan and Morocco are separated by vast oceans, the two regions share closely aligned development goals."

The numbers reflect the strong two-way trade momentum. In 2025, Hunan's imports and exports with Morocco totaled 2.431 billion CNY, a year-on-year increase of 17%; imports from Morocco reached 649 million CNY, a year-on-year surge of 288.4%. In the first four months of this year, Hunan's imports from Morocco reached 99.079 million CNY, an increase of 33.7%.

Taking Root in the Region

From "Selling Products" to "Building Industries"

"Is this agricultural machine suitable for dryland operations?" local Moroccan merchants inquired frequently at the booth.

"This tractor with sunshade canopy is specifically customized and developed for Africa's field working environments, optimizing the traditional cab structure to better suit local field conditions," explained a Zoomlion representative meticulously.

Such scenes of precise supply-demand matching played out repeatedly at the event.

With an exhibition area of 7,000 square meters, the Moroccan exhibition featured nine thematic exhibition zones including new energy, construction machinery, vehicles and auto parts, medical devices, and agricultural products and food. The exhibition brought together Hunan-based competitive equipment manufacturers such as SANY and Zoomlion, alongside leading Moroccan enterprises.

Looking back at how Hunan-based companies have expanded into the African market, their business models have evolved. Liu Jianqiang, marketing director of Zoomlion and deputy general manager of Zoomlion Overseas Company, said that when the company first entered the African market, it sold whatever it had; today, however, it produces customized products based on customer needs. The company's custom-developed intelligent and electric products—including excavators, cranes, and agricultural equipment—have already entered the local market in large numbers.

In this April, Zoomlion's Moroccan subsidiary opened in Casablanca, becoming its core hub for North Africa and establishing a localized integrated system of sales, service, and technology.

It's not just construction machinery. Hunan's new energy materials industry has also taken root in Africa and established a strong presence there.

In September 2023, CNGR Advanced Material Co., Ltd. signed an agreement with AL MADA, a leading African private investment fund, to build a new energy materials industrial base in Morocco. In June 2025, the first phase of CNGR's Moroccan industrial base project—a production line with an annual capacity of 40,000 tonnes of high-performance nickel-based materials—became fully operational, making it the first new energy battery materials industrial base on the African continent to achieve large-scale production and operation.

"We are moving forward in phases with three complementary industrial projects, which will ultimately reach an annual production capacity of 70 GWh. The projects are capable of supplying battery materials for nearly one million electric vehicles, with products mainly sold to North African, European, and American markets," said Jay Yang, vice president of CNGR Advanced Material Co., Ltd. Yang added that combining CNGR's advanced new energy material manufacturing capabilities with Morocco's location, resources, and market advantages can jointly create an internationally competitive new energy industrial chain.

The localization of individual enterprises is just the beginning; the collaborative international expansion of industrial chains represents a deeper strategic move in Hunan-Africa cooperation.

During the exhibition, the "Hunan New Energy Industry Alliance for Africa" was officially established. Led by competitive enterprises from Hunan's new energy industrial chain, the alliance will coordinate upstream and downstream enterprises to go global together, upgrading the export of competitive products such as photovoltaics, energy storage, new energy vehicles, and electrical equipment from individual products to comprehensive full-scenario solutions.

Hunan's cooperation with Africa has evolved from isolated corporate initiatives to a systematic industrial-chain approach. A representative from one of the exhibiting companies said, "We're not here for one-off deals; we want to take root in Africa."

Pursuing Shared Growth

It is not a one-way flow, but a two-way exchange.

The year 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between China and Morocco.

Nasser Bouchiba, president of the Morocco-based Africa China Cooperation Association for Development, noted that the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Africa (Morocco) will help high-quality, distinctive Moroccan products enter the Chinese market more easily, encourage Hunan's leading enterprises to expand into North Africa, and deepen integration of industrial and supply chains.

At the China-Morocco Agricultural Production and Trade Cooperation Matchmaking Conference, Chinese and Moroccan enterprises signed procurement agreements for olive oil, tea, and argan oil.

The Hunan Sub-council of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade signed friendly cooperation agreements with the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises and the Tunisian Center for Export Promotion, with regular exchange mechanisms taking shape between business associations.

Version 2.0 of the China-Africa SPS Cooperation Information Network was launched, featuring over 32,000 entries on African agricultural and food products exported to China. The initiative helped build an infrastructure for regulatory alignment and risk prevention in China-Morocco and even China-Africa agricultural trade.

These efforts together outline a clear picture: China-Morocco economic and trade cooperation is shifting from "project-driven" to "institution-driven" development.

A Moroccan proverb goes, "Bread shared is never less. Shen Yumou elaborated on this proverb during the opening ceremony, "Shared bread and opportunities multiplied."

As a key Chinese province for cooperation with Africa, Hunan is fully committed to building "six centers" and develop the Pioneering Zone for In-depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation into a "super engine" for China-Africa collaboration.

Leveraging African Trading and Processing Center for Non-resource Products, Hunan brings quality African goods to China and aims to enhance the value of Moroccan products. "We not only import Moroccan rosemary but also help it enter China's biomedical industrial chain," said Shen, adding that whether for argan oil, essential oils, or nuts, Hunan can provide one-stop services from warehousing and processing to omnichannel sales.

Leveraging the China-Africa Cross-Border E-commerce Cooperation Center and the China-Africa Industrial Chain Cultivation Center, Hunan has created an "innovative barter trade" model, with its total scale already ranking first in China. Morocco's phosphates and minerals can be exchanged for Hunan's construction machinery and new energy equipment.

Through its China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Center and the Africa Logistics Center serving the central and western regions of China, the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa rail-sea intermodal transport service has opened an end-to-end logistics corridor from Hunan to North Africa. Simultaneously, Hunan is promoting cross-border local currency settlements, making business smoother and faster.

"A distance of ten thousand kilometers cannot stop those who are eager to get things done," said Shen Yumou. He explained that turning distance into opportunity and differences into complementarity is Hunan's answer to the challenge of crossing mountains and seas.

责编：冯宇轩

一审：冯宇轩

二审：黄思婷

三审：秦慧英

来源：湖南省政府网