On June 1, 2012, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who is paying an official visit to Tunisia, met with Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdesslem. Both sides exchanged in-depth views on bilateral ties as well as regional and international issues of common concern.

Yang congratulated Tunisia as host country for successfully holding the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the China- Arab Cooperation Forum. He said China attaches great importance to developing relations with Tunisia, respects the development path chosen by the Tunisian people, and appreciates Tunisia's firm support for China on issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns. China and Tunisia enjoy firm political relations with great potential for cooperation.

Yang said that against the background of major changes in the current international and regional situation, the development of China-Tunisia relations is facing new opportunities. China is willing to make joint efforts with Tunisia to further enhance bilateral exchanges at various levels, expand pragmatic cooperation, keep closer cultural exchanges and strengthen consultation and coordination in international and regional affairs so as to push forward China-Tunisia relationship and make it a model of the ties between China and North African countries. Abdesslem thanked for China's positive efforts for the success of the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the China- Arab Cooperation Forum. He said Tunisia and China share traditional friendly ties. Defining the cooperation as "highly complementary," Abdesslem welcomed investment by Chinese companies in his country to uplift the level of bilateral cooperation and expand the cooperation scale. China-Tunisia cooperation not only benefits the two peoples, but is also conducive to promoting regional peace and stability, he added.

Following their talks, the two foreign ministers jointly met the press. After attending the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the China- Arab Cooperation Forum in Tunisia's eastern city Hammamet, Yang arrived in the Tunisian capital on the morning of June 1 for an official visit.