Morocco nestles on the northwestern tip of Africa, separated from the rest of the continent by the towering Atlas Mountains and the formidable Sahara desert.

It is bordered by Mauritania to the south and Algeria to the east. The Moroccan coastline fronts onto both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Across the Straits of Gibraltar, Spain is only a dozen kilometers away.

Because of its pleasant climate all through the year, lush greenery and beautiful scenery, Morocco has been dubbed "North Africa's garden."

The country has a long history. The Berbers, the aboriginal people who have inhabited the country since the end of the 2000 BC, were the first significant group of people to make their historical mark in the region. Rome extended its rule over the area after defeating Carthage in 146 BC. As Rome fell into decline, Morocco was invaded first by the Vandals and then, in the 7th century, by the Arabs.

The Arabs conquered Morocco in 681 and founded the Idrisside Dynasty in 788. Although Arab rule lasted little more than a century, the arrival of Islam proved to be a permanent addition to Moroccan culture.

In the ensuing centuries, a series of ruling dynasties came to power. In the 15th century, Spain and Portugal began to intrude into Morocco. Although Morocco successfully repulsed these invasions, the tide of European imperialism eventually proved too great.

By the middle of the 19th century, the European powers engaged in a protracted struggle for the possession of Morocco. Finally, in 1911, France was formally acknowledged as protector of the greater part of the country, with Spain receiving a number of isolated localities.

In March 1956, Morocco won its independence from France and Spain and became an independent kingdom. Today, Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with a king who appoints a prime minister and cabinet.

It has a land area of 459,000 square km excluding the Sahara desert and a population of some 30 million, most of them Arabs. Arabic is Morocco's national language. French is widely spoken.

Nowadays, Morocco is not highly industrialized. Most people are farmers. Agriculture composes some 20 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Fishermen work in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean and the canned fish are generally exported. The Moroccan ports of Agadir, Safi, and Tan Tan are the world's largest for sardine fishing.

The country is also one of the world's leading producers of phosphate, with 75 percent of the world reserves.

Morocco is a very popular international tourist destination, attracting millions of foreign tourists annually. The capital Rabat is famous for all the historical monuments in the kingdom. The ancient city of Fez is still very reminiscent of the Middle Ages. The sea resort of Agadir is Southern Morocco's most visited city.

Casablanca, also known as Casa or Dar el Baida, resembles a Southern European city. The northern port city of Tanger is another well-known tourist attraction.

Though far apart, Morocco and China have maintained a long tradition of friendly ties. As early as in the 8th century, Du Huan from ancient China's Tang Dynasty traveled the long distance to Morocco. In the 14th century, Chinese traveler Wang Dayuan visited Morocco and Morocco's Ibn Battuta arrived in China around the same period.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China and Morocco have nurtured growing friendly contacts and maintained frequent exchanges of high-level visits.

In recent years, their bilateral economic and cultural cooperation has been further strengthened. In 2005, the two-way trade volume reached 1.484 billion U.S. dollars.