——Review of the 2026 China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo “Go Global” (Morocco Special Session)Release Date: June 22, 2026Reporter: Peng Kexin, Hunan Online

Casablanca, on the eastern shore of the Atlantic Ocean. From June 10 to 12, the 2026 China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo “Go Global” (Morocco Special Session) was held here. More than 400 Chinese and Moroccan government and enterprise representatives gathered, and the 7,000-square-meter exhibition area was packed with enthusiastic business talks.This is Hunan’s first large-scale overseas economic and trade event in Africa after China launched zero-tariff treatment for 53 African diplomatic countries, carrying special significance.

As a key national platform for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo has been permanently hosted in Hunan since 2019. Over four sessions, a total of 512 projects have been signed with a combined investment of USD 64.71 billion.

To deepen China-Africa practical cooperation and expand connection channels for local governments and enterprises, the expo launched the “Go Global” campaign in off-years starting in 2024, with previous stops in Kenya and Nigeria. This year’s first overseas stop landed in Morocco.

The long journey to North Africa boils down to three core goals: leveraging Morocco as a gateway, building industrial roots, and pursuing win-win coexistence.

Morocco enjoys unrivaled geographical advantages.Located at the intersection of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, it is one of the African countries closest to Europe, widely known as the “Gateway to North Africa”. For Chinese enterprises targeting Europe, North Africa and the Americas simultaneously, Morocco serves as a natural springboard.

Its advantages extend far beyond geography.Morocco ranks as Africa’s second-largest industrialized economy with years of steady growth, and it was the first African nation to build high-speed railways. It boasts a complete manufacturing system and open investment policies.

Morocco’s development demands match perfectly with Hunan’s industrial strengths.Morocco holds 70 percent of the world’s phosphate reserves and is vigorously developing the electric vehicle battery industrial chain. Meanwhile, Hunan is China’s largest production base for lithium battery cathode materials, forming a complete industrial chain covering raw materials, batteries and finished vehicles.

Morocco is pushing ahead with energy transition and industrial upgrading. In the first five months of this year, Hunan’s exports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products — the “three new key products” — to Africa reached 620 million yuan, rising by 104.6 percent. Exports to Morocco surged 375.4 times.

Morocco is expanding railway networks and industrial construction, while Hunan hosts China’s largest and most complete rail equipment industrial cluster. Changsha is globally renowned as the “City of Construction Machinery” with strong intelligent manufacturing capacity.

Shen Yumou, Director of Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce, commented: “Though thousands of miles apart, Hunan and Morocco share highly aligned development aspirations.”

Trade data reflects this mutual enthusiasm. In 2025, bilateral trade between Hunan and Morocco reached 2.431 billion yuan, up 17 percent year-on-year. Hunan’s imports from Morocco jumped 288.4 percent to 649 million yuan. In the first four months of 2026, imports stood at 99.079 million yuan, an increase of 33.7 percent.

“Is this farm machine suitable for dryland farming?” Moroccan buyers kept asking at the booth.

“This tractor with sunshade is tailor-made for African farmland. We upgraded the cab structure to fit local working conditions,” a Zoomlion staff member replied patiently.

Such targeted matchmaking ran throughout the exhibition.Covering 7,000 square meters, the expo set up nine themed zones including new energy, construction machinery, complete vehicles & auto parts, medical devices and agricultural food. Leading Hunan manufacturers such as Zoomlion and Sany Heavy Industry exhibited alongside top Moroccan local enterprises.

Hunan enterprises have upgraded their overseas development model. Liu Jianqiang, Marketing Director and Deputy General Manager of Zoomlion Overseas Business, said the company once sold whatever products it made when first entering Africa. Today it develops customized machinery strictly based on client demand. Its intelligent and electric excavators, cranes and farm equipment have gained wide market acceptance.

In April this year, Zoomlion opened its Moroccan subsidiary in Casablanca, building a regional hub covering North Africa with integrated local sales, after-sales service and technical support.

The new energy material industry is also planting solid industrial roots in Africa.In September 2023, CNGR Advanced Material signed a cooperation deal with AL MADA, a top private investment fund in Africa, to build a new energy material industrial base in Morocco. Last June, Phase I of the project — a production line with an annual output of 40,000 tons of high-performance nickel-based cathode materials — went fully into operation. It became Africa’s first large-scale mass-production base for lithium battery materials.

“We will carry out three mutually complementary industrial projects, with a long-term total capacity of 70GWh, enough to supply battery materials for nearly one million new energy vehicles. Products will mainly serve North Africa, Europe and the United States,” said Yang Jie, Vice President of CNGR Advanced Material. He noted that CNGR’s advanced manufacturing technology, combined with Morocco’s geographical location, mineral resources and market access, will jointly build a globally competitive new energy industrial chain.

Individual overseas investment is only the starting point. The deeper strategy is for the whole industrial chain to go global together.

During the event, Hunan New Energy Industrial Alliance for Africa was officially established. Led by local leading enterprises, the alliance unites upstream and downstream partners to export photovoltaic, energy storage, EV and electrical equipment, shifting from single-item sales to comprehensive whole-scenario solutions.

Hunan’s cooperation with Africa has evolved from individual corporate breakthroughs to systematic industrial chain layout. One exhibitor put it plainly: “We are not here for one-off deals; we aim to take permanent root in Africa.”

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

Nasser Bouhaba, President of the Moroccan Africa-China Association for Cooperation and Development, said the expo will help high-quality Moroccan goods enter the Chinese market more smoothly, support Hunan enterprises to expand deeper into North Africa, and strengthen industrial and supply chain integration.

At the China-Morocco agricultural trade matchmaking forum, enterprises signed procurement contracts covering olive oil, tea and argan oil.The Hunan Council for the Promotion of International Trade inked friendship agreements with the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises and the Tunisian Export Promotion Centre, laying a foundation for regular institutional exchanges between industry associations.Version 2.0 of the China-Africa SPS Information Network was launched, containing more than 32,000 entries on market access for African agricultural and food exports to China, building a platform for rule alignment and risk prevention in agricultural trade.

All these moves show that China-Morocco economic ties are shifting from project-driven cooperation to institution-based long-term collaboration.

There is a Moroccan proverb: Bread shared never shrinks. Extending this message at the opening ceremony, Director Shen Yumou said: “Bread can be shared, and opportunities multiply.”

As a major Chinese province engaging with Africa, Hunan is building six key centers to turn the China-Africa Pilot Zone for Deep Economic and Trade Cooperation into a powerful engine for bilateral ties.

Relying on the Africa Non-resource Commodity Distribution Center, Hunan brings African specialties into China and helps Moroccan products move up the value chain. “We import rosemary from Morocco and further integrate it into China’s biomedicine industry. We provide one-stop services including warehousing, deep processing and full-channel sales for argan oil, essential oils and nuts.”

With the China-Africa Cross-border E-commerce Center and Industrial Incubation Center, Hunan pioneered the new barter trade model, now ranking first nationwide in scale. Moroccan phosphate and mineral resources can be exchanged for Hunan’s construction machinery and new energy equipment.

Supported by the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Center and the Africa-bound Logistics Hub for Central and Western China, the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa rail-sea intermodal transport creates end-to-end logistics routes linking Hunan with North Africa. Meanwhile, Hunan is promoting cross-border local currency settlement to facilitate smoother trade.

“A distance of ten thousand kilometers cannot stop determined partners.” Turning geographical distance into complementary opportunities is Hunan’s answer to cross-continental cooperation.

Editor-in-charge: Ou XiaoleiFirst Review: Ou XiaoleiSecond Review: Yin YifanThird Review: Tan DengSource: Hunan Online