China was Morocco’s third largest commercial partner in 2010, with a trading volume of MD26.8bn ($3.2bn). According to Morocco’s Foreign Trade Ministry, the country imported MD25bn worth of goods from China, 8.4 per cent of total imports. Morocco’s exports to China rose to MD1.8bn, or 1.2 per cent of total exports.

Chinese exports to Morocco rose from MD11bn  in 2006 to more than MD20bn in 2009. The rise has been attributed to an increase in machines apparatus, radio and TV receivers and tea.

Morocco’s exports to China consist mainly of lead ore, copper waste, scrap and natural and chemical fertilisers. The Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP)Morocco’s largest phosphates exporter will supply Chinese Sinochem Corporation with 500,000 tonnes of chemical fertiliser a year. The agreement was signed on 14 February 2011 and will last until 2014.

Trade relations between Rabat and Beijing are governed by the trade and economic agreement dating back to March 1995.