Mired in poverty and underdevelopment, countries of the Global South have long encountered many difficulties and challenges on their development journeys. Worse, each time Western countries have interfered in their internal affairs, seeking to force Western-style democracy onto them, or stirred up trouble in their region as part of the United States' hegemonic stratagems, they are the first to suffer from instability and even chaos.

In stark contrast, China's engagement with countries of the Global South has always been built on the principles of mutual respect, noninterference in a country's internal affairs and win-win cooperation based on mutual trust and equal treatment.

China-Tunisia ties are a good example of this, as apart from their pragmatic cooperation to improve people's livelihoods, the two like-minded partners, with similar views on regional and international affairs, continue to deepen their reciprocal cooperation on the bilateral level and strengthen their coordination on the multilateral level in pursuit of common development and a fairer world order; and they stand together in opposition to any country interfering in the internal affairs of others under the pretext of championing human rights and democracy.

This was the salient message in Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's meetings with Tunisian President Kais Saied and Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar in Tunis, capital of Tunisia, on Monday.

While the US and its allies are trying to widen the North-South gap to maintain their privileged positions in the international order, China is working with other countries of the Global South to narrow it. Believing that true and good development is development for all, it aspires to flatten the world so that all countries can enjoy a fair share of the global prosperity.

Cherishing the achievements it has made in improving the lives of the Chinese people through its own development, China promotes cooperation and joint efforts so people of all countries can enjoy the fruits of common development.

Tunisia was the second leg of Wang's four-nation African trip. He will also visit Togo and Cote d'Ivoire, before heading to the Caribbean and Latin America for visits to Jamaica and Brazil.

The destinations of the Chinese foreign minister's first overseas visits of the year demonstrate China's determination to carry forward its engagement with the Global South.

Through this engagement, based on openness and sharing and mutual respect, China is working with countries of the Global South to realize their shared aspiration for a better future. At the same time, it is evident that greater trust, solidarity and cooperation among countries are essential for peace, prosperity and stability throughout the world. By promoting these among the countries of the Global South and demonstrating the shared benefits, China is not only working to build a Global South community with a shared future, but also striving to encourage the Global North to come into the fold of a truly global community with a shared future.