On the afternoon of June 10 local time, the China (Hunan)–Morocco Industry Promotion and Investment and Financing Cooperation Matchmaking Conference was held at the Casablanca International Convention & Exhibition Center in Morocco. The conference was one of a series of events for the 2026 China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Africa (Morocco). It was jointly organized by the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province and the Changsha Municipal People's Government, and undertaken by the Changsha Municipal Bureau of Commerce.

The matchmaking conference was presided over by Wu Zhaoshu, secretary of the CPC Leadership Group and director of the Changsha Municipal Bureau of Commerce. Leaders from the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, the Changsha Municipal People's Government, and the Chinese Embassy in Morocco; representatives from the Moroccan government; and, representatives from relevant institutions and enterprises of Hunan and Morocco attended. The event was conducted in three phases.

1. High-level Addresses: Building Consensus and Planning a Blueprint for Cooperation

Shen Yumou, director of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, delivered a speech at the meeting, systematically introducing Hunan's development paradigm in opening up, characteristic industrial advantages, and achievements in foreign economic and trade cooperation. Director Shen expressed his hope that this matchmaking conference would serve as a new starting point to continuously deepen industrial alignment, trade connectivity, and two-way investment between Hunan and Morocco, steadily advancing regular, deeper, and more diversified economic and trade collaboration.

Salmane BELAYACHI, director of the Investment Center of the Casablanca Region of Morocco, and Zheng Wei, Economic and Commercial counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Morocco, gave speeches successively. They highly affirmed the long-standing friendly foundation of China-Morocco partnership; fully recognized Hunan's strategic supporting role in China-Africa economic and trade cooperation; and, unanimously agreed that Hunan-Morocco cooperation enjoys broad prospects and ample opportunities. Both sides pledged to fully support two-way exchanges between enterprises of the two regions, and facilitate project implementation and coordinated industrial development, continuously empowering the high-quality development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

2. Thematic Promotions: Complementing Advantages to Share Development Dividends

Zheng Ping, vice mayor of the Changsha Municipal People's Government, made a thematic promotion on Changsha's industries and policies for trade with Africa, highlighting Changsha's industrial strengths in such areas as construction machinery and cross-border trade. Vice Mayor Zheng noted that Changsha will seize the two historic opportunities of China implementing zero tariffs for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the China-Morocco strategic partnership to actively enter Africa, expand into North Africa, and enhance comprehensive industrial chain cooperation between the two sides.

Amine El Harti, director of the Economic and Regional Investment Department at the Investment Center of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Region of Morocco, simultaneously conducted a local investment environment promotion. He provided detailed introductions to the region's geographical advantages, supporting facilities in industrial parks, investment policies, and key industrial layouts. This offered guidance and reference for enterprises from Hunan and Changsha seeking to invest and establish operations in Morocco and deeply cultivate the North African market.

3. Targeted Matchmaking: Tangible Cooperation with Fruitful Outcomes

At the event, Chinese and foreign guests, industry institutions, and enterprise representatives engaged in in-depth exchanges on such topics as innovative development of China-Africa economic and trade, precise alignment of market supply and demand, and deep expansion into overseas markets, jointly exploring opportunities and seeking development. Multiple agreements were signed on site, and a batch of high-quality economic and trade cooperation projects were successfully implemented.

The event specially set up a one-on-one enterprise-specific matchmaking zone, focusing on key areas such as automotive industry, green energy, food processing, equipment manufacturing, and medical devices. This aimed to build a face-to-face targeted exchange platform for enterprises from Hunan and Morocco, effectively overcoming barriers to cross-border cooperation and fully unleashing the potential for two-way economic and trade collaboration.

With the theme of "Industrial Coordination, Investment and Financing Matchmaking, and Win-win Economic and Trade Cooperation," the matchmaking conference aimed to build an efficient and pragmatic communication and cooperation bridge between the governments and enterprises of Hunan, Changsha, and Morocco. It strove to promote comprehensive and pragmatic cooperation in key areas such as equipment manufacturing, green energy, agricultural product trade, and construction machinery, broadening the space for two-way development. The successful holding of the matchmaking conference further smoothed communication channels between governments and enterprises in Hunan and Morocco, and effectively promoted industrial linkages, resource sharing, and complementary advantages between the two sides, injecting new momentum and opening up new spaces for Hunan-Morocco economic and trade cooperation.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: swt.changsha.gov.cn