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The flow of people across the Mediterranean has been fueled by the social turmoil experienced by societies on both sides of the sea in the past decade. It’s clear that these societies are inextricably linked when it comes to politics and economic development, and nowhere is this more apparent than Italy, Libya and Tunisia.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, signed a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” between the two countries late last year. But the display of diplomatic pomp at the announcement obscured the complex and often fractious partnership between the two countries.