(Jerusalem Post) Amb. Gao Yanping - On April 8, Israeli President Shimon Peres will embark on a state visit to China. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Israel in December. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited China last May. Tens of thousands travel between China and Israel every year. The famous Chinese actor Liu Ye wrote in his microblog that "Israel is a beautiful and peaceful country, and the Israeli people are the most friendly people I have ever met." The friendship between the Chinese and Jewish nations dates back more than 1,000 years. From the 1880s onward, thousands of Jews went to northeast China because of rising anti-Semitism in Russia and Eastern Europe, forming the largest Jewish community in the Far East. Before and during World War II, when Jews were struggling for survival against the Nazi Holocaust, Shanghai received over 23,000 Jewish refugees and helped them make it through the most difficult times. Diplomatic ties were established between China and Israel on January 24, 1992. China is Israel's third-largest trading partner globally, and its biggest trading partner in Asia. The two-way trade volume has increased from $50 million in 1992 to more than $10 billion in 2013. For China, Israel is never a small country, but rather a happy and innovative startup nation with many cutting-edge technologies and rich experience in governing social affairs. Quite a number of Israeli companies have already invested in China and more are joining in. I have no doubt that the close cooperation between China and Israel will be conducive to regional stability, world peace and global prosperity. The writer is the People's Republic of China's ambassador to the State of Israel.
2014-04-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive