TUNIS - China will build a new university hospital in the Tunisian industrial city of Sfax, Chinese Vice Minister of National Health and Family Planning Commission of China Ma Xiaowei said here Friday.

China is willing to partner with the African continent in the sector of health, the Chinese official said after meeting with Tunisian Health Minister Abdellatif Mekki.

The hospital will have a capacity of 300 beds and will be financed by a Chinese donation of $30 million (about 45 million dinars).

Chinese ambassador to Tunisia Huo Zhengde said that the new hospital represents one of the largest Chinese cooperation projects in Tunisia.

China has been sending medical teams to Tunisia since 1973 according to an agreement. A number of Chinese physicians are currently working in Tunisian hospitals.