On Jan 24th, in celebration of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the People’s Republic of China and the State of Israel, Ambassador Cai Run published an op-ed titled “Carry Forward the Millennium Friendship Through Win-Win Cooperation——In Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Ties between China and Israel” on The Jerusalem Post, the biggest circulation of all English newspapers in Israel. The full text is as follows:
Today marks an important day in the history of the China-Israel relationship. On Jan. 24th, 1992, exactly 30 years ago, China and Israel established diplomatic ties at the ambassadorial level and opened a new chapter in the relations between the two countries and peoples. On Nov. 17th, 2021, President Xi Jinping had a phone conversation with President Isaac Herzog. Both leaders agreed to take the 30th anniversary as an opportunity to deepen the China-Israel relationship, which provided strategic guidance and charted the course for bilateral relations going forward.
Over the past 30 years, with joint efforts made by leaders and peoples of both countries, China-Israel relations have achieved great progress in fruitful cooperation, and the friendship between the two ancient civilizations has been renewed.
The past 30 years have witnessed ever-increasing political mutual trust. Leaders of the two countries have maintained close interaction, and friendly exchanges have been carried out at all levels. We established the China-Israel Intergovernmental Mechanism of Economic and Technological Cooperation and the China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation. In 2017, we launched the China-Israel Innovative Comprehensive Partnership, marking a new historical point for bilateral ties.
The past 30 years have witnessed vigorous development of mutually beneficial cooperation. The bilateral trade volume has increased more than 450 times in just 30 years. It rose from just $50 million in 1992 to $17.54 billion in 2020, and then to $22.8 billion in 2021, registering a 30% year-on-year growth. This fully illustrates the great potential, bright prospects and strong resilience of China-Israel cooperation. China is Israel’s largest trading partner in Asia and the third-largest in the world. While Chinese companies have participated in Israel’s infrastructure projects, many innovative Israeli firms have settled in China. The two sides have cooperated in such landmark projects as the new port of Haifa, the Red Line of the Tel Aviv Light Rail, the China-Israel Changzhou Innovation Park, and the China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park, making innovation cooperation a highlight and a driving force for bilateral relations.
The past 30 years have witnessed a flourishing of people-to-people exchanges. While only a few thousand trips were made between the two countries in 1992, today’s people-to-people exchanges are much more vigorous. The two countries opened direct flights between the Israeli city of Tel Aviv and the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hong Kong before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. In 2019, 170,000 visits were made by Chinese tourists to Israel and around 100,000 by Israelis to China. There are now 24 pairs of sister cities between China and Israel. These interactions have brought our peoples’ hearts closer and deepened our friendship.
All these achievements could not have been made without our leaders’ great foresight and unremitting visions and efforts by friends in various sectors from both sides. Over the past three decades, China-Israel relations have managed to withstand tests of the changing international landscape and kept sound and steady development by focusing on friendly cooperation, mutual respect, and mutual benefit. This brings us much valuable experience that is worth carrying forward.
Firstly, we need to carry forward the thousand-year-long, everlasting friendship. Both the Chinese and Jewish people boast long histories and splendid cultures. Both are known for their enormous contributions to world civilization, their great sufferings in history, and their tenacity and ceaseless pursuit of national rejuvenation and development. Thousands of miles apart, the Chinese and Jewish people started friendly exchanges over 1,000 years ago and have since gotten along with each other on friendly terms, with mutual respect and support. There has never been antisemitism in China. During the Second World War, Shanghai and other Chinese cities accommodated a large number of Jewish refugees. The Jewish people also lent a helping hand to us in our difficult times, leaving many touching stories. This everlasting friendship is the historical and emotional foundation of the vitality in China-Israel relations.
Secondly, we need to follow the spirit of mutual respect and seek consensus while shelving differences. There is no direct and fundamental conflict of interests between China and Israel, nor are there any outstanding historical issues. Although our historical and cultural traditions, development stages, ideologies, and social systems differ, and we hold different views on some issues, the differences haven’t become obstacles to our friendly exchanges. We have upheld mutual respect and sought common ground while shelving differences. We have always respected each other’s development path and strictly abided by the basic norms governing international relations, including mutual respect for sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs. These efforts helped strengthen the political foundation of bilateral relations.
Thirdly, we need to take a win-win and mutually reinforcing approach in cooperation. China has excellent manufacturing capabilities and a huge market, and Israel has advanced technology and strong creativity. Our respective advantages are complementary. Chinese companies have made up for Israel’s shortage of labor force and high cost of manpower by taking part in infrastructure construction. Meanwhile, innovative Israeli enterprises have injected momentum into China’s development as they settled in China for business. It is clear that China and Israel, as innovative, comprehensive partners, have similar visions on cooperation, complementary development strengths, and a strong impetus for win-win cooperation. Together we can make the pie of shared interests bigger and provide greater energy for bilateral relations.
These pieces of valuable experience, cherished by both sides, are the foundation and guidance for China-Israel relations going forward. The age of 30 bears special significance in both Chinese and Jewish cultures. As the Chinese sage Confucius once said, “A man should be steadfast at the age of thirty.” Being steadfast means being independent, mature, unhurried, and unwavering. The Talmud also regards 30 as the most energetic age in life. Thirty years have passed, and the China-Israel relationship is indeed full of vigor. Looking to the future, we need to work together to implement the important consensus reached by our leaders, follow the right direction, and promote the steady development of the China-Israel Innovative Comprehensive Partnership in the long run.
We should continue to increase strategic mutual trust, intensify exchanges at all levels and deepen communication and political mutual trust. We should respect each other’s major concerns and enhance mutual understanding and support through dialogue and consultation. China-Israel cooperation, based on mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit, is an independent and voluntary choice made by both sides. It is not aimed at and should not be affected by any third parties. We need to look at our bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective and continue to enhance strategic mutual trust through friendly exchanges. No matter how the international landscape may change, we must stick to the right direction of bilateral relations and not let floating clouds block our vision. The key to friendship must be held in our own hands.
We should focus on expanding mutually beneficial cooperation. We are ready to deepen cooperation in science, technology, agriculture and health, and expand exchanges and cooperation in culture, education, tourism, sports and other fields. In doing so, we can give full play to the complementary advantages of both sides, and seek and expand our overlapping interests, so that China and Israel will achieve common development and our people will have a greater sense of fulfillment. The Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held not long ago, reviewed the major achievements and historical experience of the CPC in the past century, and sent out signals that China will maintain a high level of stability and consistency in its major policies and plans, and will sustain rapid economic development and long-term social stability. It emphasized that China would stick to peaceful development, adhere to reform and opening up, and stay committed to the win-win approach. China has also rolled out the 14th Five-Year Plan and the Long-Range Goals for 2035 and kicked off the building of a new development paradigm. The vast market consisting of 1.4 billion people, including more than 400 million in the middle-income bracket, will release its full potential, and China’s new development will certainly bring new opportunities to Israel.
We should consolidate our traditional friendship. Amity between the peoples holds the key to good relations between countries. Our traditional friendship and similarities in the Chinese and Jewish cultures are valuable assets that should be consolidated constantly. We should take the 30th anniversary as an opportunity to increase exchanges and cooperation in culture, education, tourism, sports and other areas to cement the basis of our friendship. In 10 days, the 24th Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing. We warmly welcome the Israeli athletes and wish them good luck. I believe the Beijing Winter Olympics will further strengthen our friendship and bring our hearts closer.
As the 9th Chinese Ambassador to Israel, I have undertaken a glorious mission with important responsibilities. A year has passed since I assumed my post, and I have been deeply impressed by the Israeli people’s friendliness and great passion for China-Israel ties. I strongly believe the friendship between our two countries will become even more solid and our future even brighter.
I will, along with my colleagues at the Chinese Embassy, work with friends on both sides to consolidate our amity, sow more seeds of friendship, and build more bridges for mutually beneficial cooperation. May the ship of the China-Israel relationship sail full steam ahead under our concerted efforts toward a brighter future.