Cultural exchange builds a bridge for Tunisia and China

Dhia Khaled, ambassador of Tunisia to China, talked with China Daily Website and China Arab TV about China's high value-added products and cultural exchanges.

"By developing high-tech, big data, 5G and artificial intelligence, China has upgraded its products from having no added value to being highly value-added," said Khaled in praise of China's industries.

"That means 'Made in China' can protect itself in the global market now. It is different from the first impression we had about Chinese products three or four decades ago," he added.

Cultural exchange has been an important influence between the two countries. Tunisia was the first Arab country to offer courses in the Chinese language, which it has been doing since the 1980s. In addition, China has gradually become the hot destination where Tunisian students like to study overseas.

"Carthage University, the most prominent university in Tunisia with numbers of colleges, launched its first Confucius Institute this year," Khaled said.

"The Confucius Institute is popular to an extent beyond our expectations. Now a lot of students in Tunisia want to learn Chinese at the institute," he said.

The two countries are currently negotiating about opening more Confucius Institutes in Tunisia.