On May 11, Moroccan King Mohammed VI visited Beijing and signed a new "strategic partnership" with his counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping. It calls for heightened political and economic cooperation in the realms of renewable energy, telecoms, and industry -- among other forms of potential exchange, including the realms of education, cultural, and tourism.
From Beijing's standpoint, the heightened relationship may be viewed in the context of a new strategic push for a greater economic and security role in Africa on both sides of the Sahara. Earlier this year, the Chinese armed forces established their first military base outside of the country's "Near Abroad" -- in the strategically significant country of Djibouti. Over the past decade, it has eclipsed the U.S. and E.U. as the continent's major trading partner, and become a significant investor in industry. These efforts have been buttressed by a push to build personal, emotional, and even linguistic bridges to African populations: The continent today is dotted by "Confucius Institutes" that offer Chinese language lessons free, and hold out the opportunity to use the language as a staffer in local Chinese business ventures. Egyptian national television has broadcast a 30-part Chinese dramatic miniseries, overdubbed into Arabic, which highlights the cultural and historical parallels between the two traditional societies and the rural roots of so much of their respective urban populations. The beginnings of a similar effort have been developing in my native Morocco as well: A "Friends of Chinese International Radio Club" -- the broadcast, reaching our country in Arabic -- has been established in Khouribga, a small working-class town in central Morocco that happens to be a hub of the country's phosphate industry, a major source of imports for China. Members have been flown to China to learn more about the country. There is a feeling that a deep emotional bond between the two societies is growing.
Morocco welcomes these bridges -- as well as China's broader efforts to become a player in Africa -- as they have the potential to advance the Kingdom's own interests as well. As I have previously noted, the Kingdom views the African continent, particularly south of the Sahara, as its strategic and economic depth. It is committed to supporting security and political stabilization efforts in countries, ranging from Burkina Faso, Gabon, and Guinea to Senegal, Mali, and Cote D'Ivoire. as well as human development through health and human services, education, and civil society. In terms of economic development, Moroccan investment and trade on the continent is growing, facilitated by an extensive human network of Moroccan entrepreneurs across the continent and with structural support from the King himself. China has long been an important importer of Moroccan phosphates, and welcomes greater Chinese investment in its own industries. The possible role of the Chinese security sector as a component of regional security and counterterrorism strategies is also one that the kingdom is keen to encourage. From a political standpoint, moreover, a tradition of nonintervention between the two countries bodes well for the relationship: China has never supported the separatist Polisario militia in its violent campaign against the kingdom. Morocco does not intervene in China's "Near Abroad" rivalries.
There is another way in which heightened ties between China and Africa generally and China and Morocco in particular are welcomed by the Kingdom -- and which the United States should recognize and consider in terms of its own Africa policies: The Kingdom has signaled to all great powers with an interest in Africa that it wishes to engage in tripartite economic partnerships, whereby a country relatively new to the continent works through Morocco as a geographic, entrepreneurial, and human "hub" to forge business deals far and wide. The foreign power gains from the arrangement by gaining Moroccan assistance in bridging logistical and cultural gaps. Local parties benefit from the Moroccan tradition of fusing hard-nosed business development with investment in human infrastructure on the ground. Morocco has urged the United States to take advantage of this opportunity, but so far, American ventures along these lines are still at a junior stage. China has been manifesting greater enthusiasm to establish these "tripartite" partnerships.
Perhaps there is a relationship between what has appeared to be a trend of a receding American "soft power" footprint overseas on the one hand, and a rising China on the other. Africans welcome cooperation with both countries, but will not wait for the U.S. to take the lead.