Moroccan scholar sees BRI benefits in Africa

Initiative serves as a great platform for bringing disparate regions together

When Nasser Bouchiba came to China in 1995 to pursue university studies he was impressed by the vitality of the country and its people.

"I had a feeling that dramatic changes were taking place here, because, though people in China back then were not rich, it seemed to me that they had a common belief that their country would become better and better," said Bouchiba, now president of the Africa-China Cooperation Association for Development in Morocco.

Bouchiba, 46, of Rabat, spent the next 20 years in China, obtaining a PhD degree, researching China's aid and investment in Africa, at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and started an investment company with Chinese partners specialized in exporting new technologies from China to Africa and the Arab world.

"I have witnessed the huge achievements of China's reform and opening-up," he said. "In China, ordinary people could realize their dreams just based on their own efforts, and will not judge people by their family background, which is quite impressive."

After Morocco's King Mohammed VI's official visit to China in 2016, which was marked by the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries, Bouchiba said that it was time he returned to Morocco, telling his compatriots about China's economic development and reform and opening-up.

He founded the Africa-China Cooperation Association for Development to boost Chinese-African business collaboration in 2018. With the association's help, Chinese technologies and skills, such as seawater desalination technology, and best practices in the mining industry, have been introduced to Africa, and Chinese companies have found opportunities in the big African market. The association is also working on an industrial zone to deliver China's equipment to Morocco, which he said will accelerate Morocco's industrialization.

Last year he published in Chinese the book History of the Relations between Morocco and China (1958-2018), giving a comprehensive view of the bilateral collaboration and friendship. The book has also been translated into Arabic and French languages.

Bilateral collaboration

Morocco joined the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, and last year the country became the first in North Africa to sign a cooperation plan with China to co-build the initiative to deepen bilateral collaboration between the two countries.

Trade between China and Morocco was worth $6.13 billion from January to November last year, 3.5 percent more than in the previous corresponding period, Chinese Customs says.

The BRI is a great platform that has delivered great benefits to the world over the past 10 years, Bouchiba said, especially when some developed countries are prone to adopting protectionist policies.

"In the next decade the Belt and Road projects will be more specific and clear, and will better align with the needs of various countries."

Bouchiba has also striven to learn about China's development theories and experiences through reading the works of Chinese leaders, including all of President Xi Jinping's The Governance of China series.

"For Africa, the most important experiences to learn from China are about eradicating poverty," Bouchiba said. "The Chinese leader made a vision of eliminating poverty, and under the leadership of the Communist Party of China the government has consistent policies of poverty eradication, and all civil servants have participated in this work, which is the three secrets to success that we need to learn from China."

Cao Guangzhang, associate professor at the Institute of Contemporary China Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said the speed and scale of the Chinese path of modernization have rarely been seen in the history of mankind. China's experience could be used as a reference for countries that face the predicament of modernization, he said.

"The Chinese path of modernization is based on China's national conditions and cultural traditions, with Chinese characteristics and in line with the common values of modern mankind. This provides an alternative of developing an economy and realizing modernization for developing countries."

chenyingqun@chinadaily.com.cn