How China is betting $5.6 billion on Morocco to dominate the electric battery

The Middle Kingdom is no longer content with raw extraction in Africa and is now deploying local processing infrastructure. In Morocco, this evolution is taking shape with the imminent construction of a battery factory by the Chinese company Gotion High-Tech, representing a colossal investment of $5.6 billion.

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This North African establishment is part of a lightning-fast global expansion policy. According to the Climate Energy Finance think tank, relayed by OilPrice, Beijing is primarily targeting lithium, copper, nickel and rare earths, resources crucial for decarbonization technologies.

The method often relies on opaque "minerals for infrastructure" agreements. By financing development projects in developing countries, China secures its supplies and now controls 90% of rare earth refining and battery components globally.

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While this approach fills real infrastructural gaps, it exposes host countries to major debt risks. Moreover, Chinese operators often import their own workers and materials, this takeover drastically limits the creation of local jobs and the transfer of technologies hoped for by the signatory governments.