On the night of April 17, Vice-Premier Qian Qichen, who was accompanying President Jiang Zemin on his state visit to Tunisia, met with Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs Habib Ben Yahia.

In line with the consensus reached between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his Tunisian counterpart Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, the two officials discussed ways of how to further expand bilateral friendly cooperation in the political, economic, trade and scientific sectors. Both agreed to maintain the exchange of high-level visits, strengthen contacts and explore new forms and areas of cooperation so as to make bilateral partnership score greater development in the new century.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the current Middle East situation.