Summary:

On Thursday, 4 July 2024, the Director of the Chinese Confucius Institute, and officials from the Tunisian Ministry of Education agreed on establishing a scholarship for students seeking to pursue higher education in China.

The agreement included new financing for the launch of Chinese language teaching programs and the provision of equipment to language laboratories operating in Tunisian schools.

A week prior, Chinese Vice Minister, Dong Xin, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Arab States Broadcasting Union during the Arab-China Radio Television Cooperation Forum held in Tunis.

The MoU included exchanging expertise, supporting joint projects, and screening productions to Chinese and Arab audiences.

Outlook: 

These new agreements between Tunisia and China point to expanding Chinese soft power in the Arab world, including in Tunisia.

China is increasingly investing in promoting its language and culture through Chinese teaching centers and the diffusion of Chinese audiovisual products.

Familiarizing Tunisians with Chinese culture through various forms of media and educational efforts will likely continue to garner a positive outlook regarding China and a relative openness to China’s activity in Tunisia and across Africa.

This will likely increase competition with Western state-sponsored cultural institutes in Tunisia like the French Institute, Amideast and the American Corner.

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