China’s new ambassador to Tunisia Wan Li affirmed his country’s opposition to and rejection of any interference in Tunisia’s internal affairs.
Speaking at a meeting with the Tunisian press on the two annual sessions (the annual session of the National People’s Congress and the National Council of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference) held recently, he said China and Tunisia share a set of human values on which international relations are based. The most important of the latter is the principle of non-interference in internal affairs of others. They, at the same time, agree on working for peace and common development and consolidating the values of freedom and democracy, he pointed out.
He added that “the credibility of freedom and democracy cannot be determined or led by a minority of states.”
He pointed to the long-standing relations between China and Tunisia and talked bout their co-operation in the Maritime Silk Road, and the great and numerous opportunities for cooperation and diversification available today, at various political, economic and cultural levels.
China stands by Tunisia to obtain an International Monetary Fund loan to implement its economic reforms, he further indicated.
He said his meeting Friday with Minister of Trade and Export Development Kalthoum Ben Rejeb was an opportunity to discuss ways to overcome Tunisia’s trade deficit with China, which accounts for a quarter of the country’s overall foreign trade deficit.
Wan Li added that the Chinese and Tunisian sides are working currently to overcome the difficulties facing Tunisian goods by overcoming customs barriers and opening green corridors for Tunisian agricultural products, especially olive oil.
In the health field, the Chinese ambassador said Tunisia has asked China to build a hospital for cancer patients in Gabes, and that his country was preparing to provide a new batch of medical equipment and machines for the University Hospital in Sfax, in addition to the Chinese medical team that has been working for 50 years in Tunisia.
Ambassador Wan Li said that Tunisia is one of the leading Arab countries in the field of cultural cooperation with China, and during the past year a protocol for cultural and tourism cooperation was signed.
He stated that he is in the process of discussing with the relevant institutions the possibility of visa exemption for Chinese tourists who come to Tunisia individually and especially young people.
He reminded that the year 2019 saw the influx of more than 30,000 Chinese tourists, pointing to efforts to double this number.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP)