Partnership upgrade

During his visit to Tunisia on May 13-14, Wang Yi, China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke about “the need to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries in the fields of economic development and investment,” by focusing on the “important role played by Tunisia in the Arab and African world.” China’s chief diplomat reiterated China’s willingness to help Tunisia increase its capabilities in terms of fighting terrorism, as well as to deepen bilateral cooperation on regional and international issues.

For his part, the Tunisian President Beji Caïd Essebsi underlined that China contributes in a posi- tive way to Tunisia’s economic development and expressed his ambition to elevate Tunisia to the rank of an economic partner of China.

During the visit, there were talks of Chinese support for projects to be carried out in Tunisia as part of the 2016-20 five-year program, as well as Chinese financing of five projects in the health sector. An agreement on economic and technical cooperation was signed between the two countries. Under the agreement, China will assist $14.1 million to Tunisia for the construction of a university hospital in Sfax City. The project is expected to start in October.

The Great Wall of China has existed for centuries. If we do not bother to climb on top of it, we will never be able to see how splendid the surrounding landscape is, and we will never fully realize how much strength was needed to build it. Similarly, with its strong GDP growth, modern China continues to upset the odds; its great economy, despite the slowdown in growth, was not built in a day nor without much effort.

When will Tunisians finally rise up and stand on their own Great Wall? (The author is an expert on international affairs with books on the Middle East/north Africa region)

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