The growing ties between Chinese and
Moroccan peoples have consolidated the basis for cooperation between the two countries, said Li Li, Chinese ambassador to Morocco, in a recent interview with Xinhua.
China and Morocco have witnessed in recent years increasing exchanges in sectors including tourism, culture and healthcare, said Li.
Since Morocco has announced the visa waiver for Chinese citizens in June 2016, the number of Chinese tourists to Morocco has increased from less than 20,000 per year to some 180,000 in 2018, according to the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism.
Tourism serves as an important way to cast away stereotypes of a country, said Li, elaborating that previously, the perception of Moroccans about China is deeply influenced by the Western media, while as more Chinese have travelled here, the Moroccans get to know a real and modern China through communication with Chinese people.
Also, the large number of Chinese tourists has generated remarkable revenues for Morocco's tourism-dependent economy, boosting the development of the North African country and promoting trade between the two countries, said Li.
The Chinese ambassador hailed tourism as a new form of economic cooperation between China and Africa. "As cooperation based on infrastructure projects or natural resource exploitation is traditionally dominated by large enterprises, tourism usually involves participation of Chinese citizens, adding new insight and vitality to the conventional cooperation."
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