President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Tunisian President Kais Saied following a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday. FENG YONGBIN/CHINA DAILY

Ties expanded in wide range of areas

China and Tunisia announced the establishment of a strategic partnership on Friday as they committed to strengthen bilateral ties and jointly respond to regional and global challenges.

President Xi Jinping and Tunisian President Kais Saied made the announcement during their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Saied was on a state visit to China. He also attended the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, which was held in Beijing on Thursday.

Following their talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of multiple agreements on bilateral cooperation in fields including green and low-carbon development and investment.

Xi told his Tunisian counterpart that China and Tunisia are good friends and brothers.

Over the 60 years since they established diplomatic relations, China and Tunisia have always respected each other, treated each other as equals and supported each other no matter how the international situation evolves, he said.

Noting that consolidating and developing China-Tunisia relations is in line with the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two peoples, Xi said China is willing to work with Tunisia to carry forward the traditional friendship, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and take the countries' relationship to a new level.

Xi emphasized that China supports Tunisia in following a development path that suits its own national conditions, and supports it in independently promoting reforms and firmly holding its destiny in its own hands.

He underlined the need for both countries to work together with Global South countries to strengthen unity and cooperation, practice true multilateralism, advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and promote inclusive economic globalization that benefits all.

China is willing to work with Tunisia to build the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, injecting new impetus into the development of China-Arab relations and jointly building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future, Xi said.

Saied said that Tunisia looks forward to more support from China in its national development, closely cooperating in areas such as health, transportation, green development and education to elevate bilateral relations to a new level.

Tunisia firmly adheres to the one-China policy and firmly supports the efforts of the Chinese government to achieve national reunification and defend its core interests, he said.

In a joint statement on establishing a strategic partnership between China and Tunisia, which was released after the leaders' meeting, the two countries agreed that they would firmly support each other on issues related to their core interests and major concerns.

Both countries will jointly promote high-quality cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative, fully leverage the role of BRI projects, and jointly ensure the security of the projects, the statement said.

On the Palestine-Israel conflict, both countries condemn the brutal violations against the Palestinian people, emphasizing the need for an immediate cessation of the violations, the comprehensive lifting of the blockade in the Gaza Strip and ensuring access to food and medical aid, according to the statement.

On Friday, the Tunisian president also met with Premier Li Qiang, and Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body.