The Chinese armaments industry has just opened a subsidiary based in Rabat

Norinco establishes its presence in Morocco

photo_camera norinco-china-marruecos

Norinco (China North Industries Coorporation) has just set up a presence in the Maghreb country to continue the sustainable mobility solution project launched by EMOB, a partner of the Allianz brand dedicated to the automotive sector and which trades mainly within the Kingdom with the sale of Yadea brand electric motorbikes. They started the project in 2019 and planned to launch into orbit from that year, but because of the coronavirus pandemic it has been affected and delayed.

This programme will be financed, in large part, by Allianz Maroc, which as previously mentioned is EMOB's third partner and which holds a third of the capital for the realisation of this idea. Because of these ties, it is no surprise that the Chinese giant has established itself in Morocco, although for the moment, nothing is known about China's real intentions in Morocco and what it will do in the long or short term within the territory. 

Norinco is a Chinese company that employs more than 200,000 people worldwide and has a global turnover of more than 70 billion dollars. In addition to the manufacture of vehicles and other support, one of its major activities is the manufacture of weapons. China has since become interested in the resources that Africa has to offer and has for some time now begun its incursion into the continent, with the creation of infrastructures and even a military base in Djibouti. In this way, China has managed to create defence and economic ties for its own benefit.

In recent times, they have been engaged in arms sales within the continent. According to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA), China exported 24 battle tanks to Tanzania and 30 to Chad during 2013. The JF-17 Thunder model fighter aircraft and some drones have been sold to countries such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Ghana. Missiles and missile launchers have also been sold in Morocco, Ghana, Cameroon, Tanzania, Niger, Rwanda and Sudan, and light weapons from the Asian country have been seen in Ethiopia. Norinco also commissioned a 6,000-tonne capacity explosives and detonators production plant in Guinea in 2018.

Another country with which the Alawite kingdom has good relations and with which it has signed several contracts of various kinds is the United States. Morocco and the United States have cooperated in military matters and have formed the so-called "African Lion" military trials to combat terrorist threats and to prevent natural disasters. The country led by Joe Biden, in turn, delivered 24 combat helicopters to Morocco a few months ago. 

Morocco has good relations with several countries on the international stage. In recent years, relations with the United Kingdom have been strengthened, including the creation of a sea transport link between Tangier and Poole. With Portugal, it has also agreed another maritime line for commercial and tourist use between the two countries. Dmitry Medvedev himself highlighted the great friendship that exists between Russia and the Alawi kingdom, and, above all, the existence of great economic and commercial plans between the two nations, stating that "cooperation between Rabat and Moscow shows that there is a great potential for cooperation that should be exploited to the maximum".
 

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