Tunisian President Meets with Chinese Defense MinisterTunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali met with Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian and his high-level military delegation on Tuesday.Ben Ali warmly welcomed the visit of Chi and his delegation, and asked Chi to convey his regards to Chinese President Jiang Zemin. The Tunisian-Chinese relations are deeply-rooted, Ben Ali said, expressing satisfaction with the close cooperation between the two countries in all fields. He praised the great achievements made by China in developing the economy after adopting the policy of reform and opening to the outside world in 1978. He spoke highly of China's important role in dealing with international and regional affairs. Chi said that he was happy to meet with President Ben Ali. He conveyed to the Tunisian leader the greetings of President Jiang, the Chinese government and people. The peoples of China and Tunisia are bound by deep and time-honored friendship, said Chi, who arrived in Tunis on Monday for a four-day visit. He expressed appreciation for Tunisia's adherence to the "One China" policy and its support for China's reunification efforts. The Chinese minister extended gratitude for Tunisia's support for China in regional and international affairs. China attaches great importance to the development of friendship and cooperation with Tunisia, Chi said. China seeks to build a new comprehensive, stable and long-term partnership with African countries on the basis of openness, friendship, equality, solidarity and common development, he pointed out. |
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