China, Morocco to develop innovative partnerships in media sector

China's media is ready to develop innovative new-generation partnerships with Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), morocco's official news agency, for the application of new technologies, said Guo Weimin, deputy director of China's State Council Information Office.

Guo Weimin (2nd R), deputy head of China's State Council Information Office, meets with Khalil Hachimi Idrissi (2nd L), director general of Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) in Rabat, Morocco, Oct. 29, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

During a meeting in Rabat on Tuesday with Khalil Hachimi, director general of MAP, Guo wished MAP and its Chinese counterpart Xinhua News Agency could reinforce their cooperation.

"The relations between the two countries have been at their best since Moroccan King Mohammed VI's visit to China in 2016 and Morocco's accession to the Belt and Road Initiative in 2017, especially in economic and commercial exchanges which have grown considerably in recent years," Guo said.

Morocco has a great influence on the world stage, said Guo, adding that the country's diversity allows it to be a platform for Africa, the Middle East and Europe at the same time.

The presence of MAP and the Atlantic Federation of African News Agencies (FAAPA) in Africa is able to help China develop partnerships via Morocco with other African countries, he said.

Reviewing Xinhua's achievements in the implementation of new technologies and its breakthrough on social networks, Guo said the development of artificial intelligence and new technologies are playing very important role on the world of media, noting this may be a new partnership project between MAP and Xinhua.

The Chinese official also stressed the importance of establishing partnerships between the two countries' think tanks, while insisting on the need to strengthen the mutual knowledge of the two cultures.

For his part, the director general of MAP said that "we must imagine a new paradigm of cooperation, in line with the aspirations of Africans for a more balanced and more respectful cooperation of African values, as well as in harmony with the specificities of the continent."

"The intensification of our cooperation can succeed only if it goes through diversification, especially in the field of information and communication," he said, calling for a joint reflection for the development of this new paradigm of partnership.

MAP has completed its digital transformation and has implemented a strategic plan that has enabled the agency to develop a TV and radio network on the web, he said, expecting to take advantage of the Chinese experience in this area to develop a network of regional televisions in Morocco.

In June 2017, an agreement was signed to strengthen bilateral cooperation and consolidate professional relations between MAP and Xinhua, giving the two agencies the right to exchange information and news products via the internet and others technical means.