RABAT, Apr 24 (Reuters) Chinese President Hu Jintao kicked off a three-nation tour of Africa in Morocco today, boosting already booming ties to a continent rich in the energy and minerals his country needs to feed a fast-growing economy.
Cannons boomed in salute as Hu was greeted at Rabat airport by Prime Minister Driss Jettou. Hu later met King Mohammed at his palace and was due to sign trade, cultural and medical accords.
China's Africa drive first moved up a gear when Hu visited Gabon in 2004, lending impetus to business links in a campaign that raised both hopes and hackles far beyond African shores.
''Africa's trade links are shifting from the global 'north' to the global 'east','' wrote British analyst Christopher Clapham, referring to China's purchases of African commodities and its sales to the continent of manufactured goods.
''Chinese need for raw materials to feed its new industries has transformed the fortunes of African primary producers.'' ''There is a downside to this development: Africa's own industrialisation can scarcely be encouraged by the flood of cheap goods available from Asia,'' he wrote.
In 2004, China's total exports to Africa hit 13.82 billion dollars, up 36 per cent over the previous year while imports surged 81 per cent to 15.65 billion dollars, according to Chinese statistics.
Some analysts say China's push has given Africa a bigger role in the world economy, displacing what many Africans call an unequal and debilitating relationship with Europe that has dominated the continent from the slave trade era to the present.
Critics say, however, that beneath the diplomatic veneer, access to raw materials is paramount for China, and concern for good governance or social welfare counts for nothing beyond the demands of a stable environment in which to extract resources.
A case in point is Sudan, where China's trade and oil interests have induced the permanent UN Security Council member on several occasions to provide diplomatic cover for the government accused by many of war crimes against its own people.
Africans with long memories argue that Europe, and in particular old colonial power Britain, forfeits any moral high ground in the debate because of its past record of business links with South Africa under apartheid white minority rule.
PORT, TOURISM Morocco might seem an odd first stop for Hu, given that it is the only North African country without any oil, and that China's aggressive push into the European clothing market has dealt a blow to the kingdom's vital textile industry.
But China accounts for a growing share of the world trade that Morocco wants to draw through a new port and industrial hub to open next year in the northern city of Tangier.
The project is part of a plan -- backed up by a raft of free trade deals -- to position Morocco as a competitive trade and manufacturing base on Europe's doorstep.
''Because of this position China can in the near future think about using Moroccan territory as a step towards new avenues of exports to Europe and the United States,'' said Tajeddine el-Husseini, a Moroccan international economic law professor.
China-Morocco trade rose by almost a third to 1.5 billion dollars in 2005, with China selling textiles, home electronics and tea and buying semiconductor equipment, fertilizers and seafood.
Morocco is also trying to double tourist numbers to 10 million by 2010, by when an estimated 100 million Chinese tourists are expected to holiday in foreign countries.
El-Husseini said the talks may also cover Taiwan and Western Sahara, issues respectively of concern to China and Morocco.
China wants to head off Taiwanese diplomatic efforts, while Morocco is likely to lobby China to support its plan to grant limited autonomy to the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Later in the week Hu is scheduled to visit Nigeria and Kenya.
REUTERS SHB KP2218
Cannons boomed in salute as Hu was greeted at Rabat airport by Prime Minister Driss Jettou. Hu later met King Mohammed at his palace and was due to sign trade, cultural and medical accords.
China's Africa drive first moved up a gear when Hu visited Gabon in 2004, lending impetus to business links in a campaign that raised both hopes and hackles far beyond African shores.
''Africa's trade links are shifting from the global 'north' to the global 'east','' wrote British analyst Christopher Clapham, referring to China's purchases of African commodities and its sales to the continent of manufactured goods.
''Chinese need for raw materials to feed its new industries has transformed the fortunes of African primary producers.'' ''There is a downside to this development: Africa's own industrialisation can scarcely be encouraged by the flood of cheap goods available from Asia,'' he wrote.
In 2004, China's total exports to Africa hit 13.82 billion dollars, up 36 per cent over the previous year while imports surged 81 per cent to 15.65 billion dollars, according to Chinese statistics.
Some analysts say China's push has given Africa a bigger role in the world economy, displacing what many Africans call an unequal and debilitating relationship with Europe that has dominated the continent from the slave trade era to the present.
Critics say, however, that beneath the diplomatic veneer, access to raw materials is paramount for China, and concern for good governance or social welfare counts for nothing beyond the demands of a stable environment in which to extract resources.
A case in point is Sudan, where China's trade and oil interests have induced the permanent UN Security Council member on several occasions to provide diplomatic cover for the government accused by many of war crimes against its own people.
Africans with long memories argue that Europe, and in particular old colonial power Britain, forfeits any moral high ground in the debate because of its past record of business links with South Africa under apartheid white minority rule.
PORT, TOURISM Morocco might seem an odd first stop for Hu, given that it is the only North African country without any oil, and that China's aggressive push into the European clothing market has dealt a blow to the kingdom's vital textile industry.
But China accounts for a growing share of the world trade that Morocco wants to draw through a new port and industrial hub to open next year in the northern city of Tangier.
The project is part of a plan -- backed up by a raft of free trade deals -- to position Morocco as a competitive trade and manufacturing base on Europe's doorstep.
''Because of this position China can in the near future think about using Moroccan territory as a step towards new avenues of exports to Europe and the United States,'' said Tajeddine el-Husseini, a Moroccan international economic law professor.
China-Morocco trade rose by almost a third to 1.5 billion dollars in 2005, with China selling textiles, home electronics and tea and buying semiconductor equipment, fertilizers and seafood.
Morocco is also trying to double tourist numbers to 10 million by 2010, by when an estimated 100 million Chinese tourists are expected to holiday in foreign countries.
El-Husseini said the talks may also cover Taiwan and Western Sahara, issues respectively of concern to China and Morocco.
China wants to head off Taiwanese diplomatic efforts, while Morocco is likely to lobby China to support its plan to grant limited autonomy to the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Later in the week Hu is scheduled to visit Nigeria and Kenya.
REUTERS SHB KP2218
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