BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Tunisian President Kais Saied on Friday announced the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries.
The announcement came as Xi held talks with Saied, who is on a state visit to China.
Noting that China and Tunisia are good friends and brothers, Xi said that over the past 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China and Tunisia have always respected and supported each other, and treated each other as equals despite international vicissitudes, writing a vivid chapter of developing countries standing together through thick and thin.
Consolidating and developing China-Tunisia relations conforms to the fundamental interests and common expectations of the two peoples, Xi noted, adding that China is willing to work with Tunisia to continue the traditional friendship, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and push bilateral relations to a new level.
"Today, we announced the establishment of China-Tunisia strategic partnership, which will open up an even brighter future for our relations," he said.
China supports Tunisia in pursuing a development path that suits its own national conditions, independently advancing the reform process, and keeping its future firmly in its own hands, Xi said.
China is ready to enhance synergy of development strategies with Tunisia, deepen cooperation in such fields as infrastructure construction and new energy, foster new growth engines for cooperation in medical and health care, green development, water resources, agriculture and other fields, and promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries to achieve more results, Xi said, welcoming more high-quality Tunisian products into the Chinese market.
China is willing to continue to send high-caliber medical teams to Tunisia, deepen cooperation with Tunisia in education and tourism, and enhance people-to-people exchanges, he added.
Xi urged the two sides to work with countries in the Global South to strengthen solidarity and coordination, practice true multilateralism, advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and achieve common development.
China is ready to work with Tunisia to build well the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, inject new impetus into the development of China-Arab relations, and jointly build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future, he said. ■
