Executives of some Chinese companies facing U.S. tariff and Pentagon scrutiny may be walking the halls of the White House later this week. The delegation Beijing is finalizing to accompany Chinese President Xi Jinping on his visit to Washington, Reuters reports, will include leaders of electric vehicle firms that not only face U.S. regulatory scrutiny but are also at the forefront of China’s economic expansion across the Middle East and North Africa.
Last week, Chinese battery giant CATL signed a tech-licensing and supply deal with Egyptian manufacturer BME to construct a battery plant in Egypt. And next month, Africa’s first lithium battery gigafactory, built by China’s Gotion High-Tech, is set to begin mass production in Morocco.
Meanwhile, Chinese EV maker BYD is rapidly scaling its regional presence through a rollout of retail showrooms and technology centers from Riyadh to Dubai, to Cairo. In 2025, BYD overtook Tesla to dominate the Middle East market with a 60 percent market share, reported by the International Energy Agency.
BYD does not sell passenger cars in the U.S. CATL, along with BYD, are barred from the Pentagon citing their close ties to the Chinese military. Gotion’s plans to build a battery factory in Michigan collapsed last year amid protests and controversies over the company’s alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
No such barriers are in place for many U.S. allies in the Middle East. Chinese technology and capital investment in Morocco and Egypt’s green energy and electric vehicle sectors demonstrate how economic ties can pull U.S.-aligned countries into China’s orbit. The newly released MBN Great Powers Index finds that both countries are leaning toward China today, flipping from their U.S.-leaning position a decade ago.
Building on its high-level diplomacy, Chinese influence is manifested in North Africa’s manufacturing, auto parts, EV technology, and supply chains that support them.
Exponential Regional Growth
According to China’s General Administration of Customs, Chinese EV export value to MENA countries reached $8.76 billion across 491,262 units in 2025, up from $401.1 million and 16,822 units in 2021.
The upward trajectory continued into 2026. Through July 2026, Chinese EV shipments to Egypt climbed almost 150 percent year-over-year, and almost 122 percent in Morocco.
“In the past, we had to convince customers to try a Chinese car. Today, they enter the showroom asking for a specific model,” says Khaled El-Sokkary, an Egyptian auto dealership manager with more than 15 years of industry experience.
Consumer behavior in the region is increasingly driven by value and after-sale support rather than brand origin. Chinese electric vehicles “are now available in Egypt at prices similar to those of economical gasoline cars, while offering good performance and specifications,” said Mohamed El Rouby, a content creator. No American or European electric vehicle, he added, currently matches that value in Egypt.
Resale value used to be a hurdle for Chinese automakers in Egypt. No more, said Obeid Fathy, a sales manager at a Cairo dealership at Al Araby United Company. “Today, you can drive through Cairo and see MG and Chery vehicles everywhere,” he said.
From Showrooms to Assembly Lines
This consumer shift underscores China’s deeper industrial integration in the region.
Between 2020 and 2025, Chinese tech-sector greenfield investments reached $3.3 billion in Morocco and $8.8 billion in Egypt, according to data from FDI Markets, far overshadowing U.S. investments of $226.8 million in Morocco and $3.35 billion in Egypt over the same period.
In Egypt, major Chinese automakers such as Geely, SAIC, Chery, BAIC and Dongfeng have set up assembly lines shifting from exports to local manufacturing. In Morocco, Gotion High-Tech is building Africa’s first EV battery gigafactory, a $1.3 billion initial phase within a planned $6.5 billion investment. Morocco already hosts a cluster of Chinese EV battery and component manufacturers, including BTR New Material Group and CNGR, topping $2.9 billion tracked by the MBN Great Powers Index.
Magdy Adel, an automotive marketing director at SN Automotive, Dongfeng’s distributor in Egypt, said China’s manufacturing capabilities have helped companies produce advanced vehicles at lower prices. “[T]he materials, technology and production efficiency allow Chinese cars to compete in price categories that might otherwise be inaccessible to many consumers,” making it hard for competing companies to match.
Morocco holds 70 percent to 75 percent of the world’s known phosphate reserves, a key raw material for lithium iron phosphate batteries and cathode production. Morocco offers duty-free industrial access to the EU markets. Tangier Tech City, a manufacturing hub near the Tanger Med port developed by Chinese state-owned firms with Moroccan partners, sits less than nine miles from Europe. In May, Beijing implemented zero-tariff trade access for most African nations.
“Morocco’s stability and economic dynamism make it an attractive platform for Chinese companies looking beyond the Moroccan market, particularly into the rest of Africa,” said Karim Mezran, director of the Atlantic Council’s North Africa Initiative.
Back in the Egyptian car showroom, China’s growing market share is obvious. Their automobiles, Fathy said, have earned “recognizable customer bases, active distributors and a growing presence on Egyptian roads.”
