Editor's Note:
What's China like in the eyes of Israeli people? Will visiting Israel become more convenient for Chinese people in the future? To facilitate mutual understanding between the citizens of China and Israel and to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Israel's independence this year, Global Times reporters Xie Wenting and Fan Lingzhi (GT) interviewed Israeli Ambassador to China Zvi Heifetz (Heifetz) on bilateral relations, economic and cultural exchanges and other crucial topics.
GT: What was your reaction when you first learned of your appointment as the Ambassador of Israel to China? Were you surprised or nervous? Did you know anything about China before taking office?
Heifetz: I was the ambassador of Israel to the UK, Austria and Russia before I took over this position. I was very honored and pleased to be appointed the Ambassador of the State of Israel to China. China has an incredibly diversified and unique culture that I am happy to experience.
GT: An interesting experiment was conducted. When "Chinese people like Jewish people" was searched on China's social media engines, most results showed that Chinese people believe Jewish people are intelligent and diligent. However, when the phrase "Jewish people like Chinese people" was searched, most results showed "Jewish people like Chinese food." Is it true that Jewish people only like Chinese food?
Heifetz: Although we differ in size and geography, Chinese people and Jewish people are both descendants of long and rich civilizations and share values such as the importance of education, family, tradition and striving for excellence. An important part of my mission in China is to bridge our two cultures and to increase cooperation between our two governments, people and businesses. I believe that in recent years the ties between our two nations have deepened, as more Israeli and Chinese people travel, invest and study in our two countries.
GT: What do young people in Israel think about China? How can they improve their knowledge of China? In recent years, many young Israelis have come to study and work in China, why is it so?
Heifetz: Young people in Israel are fascinated by Chinese culture and history. As the ties between our two nations strengthen, more and more Israelis want to expand their knowledge of China. As such, they decide to study Chinese language, history and the works of great Chinese philosophers such as Confucius and Lao Zi. Our two countries enjoy wonderful academic ties, exchange hundreds of scholarships and there are many collaborations between Chinese and Israeli universities.
GT: Sidney Shapiro and Israel Epstein are well-known figures in China. They have intertwined their lives with the fate of the Chinese people. Are there any Chinese people in Israel that are similarly well known?
Heifetz: As well as Sidney Shapiro and Israel Epstein that are known for helping the Chinese people, the state of Israel and the Jews all over the world will be forever grateful to Dr. He Fengshan. During WWII, Dr. He saved tens of thousands of Jews, by providing them with visas to find refuge in China. In 2000, Dr. He was awarded the title of righteousness among the nations. Moreover, the connection between the Chinese and the Jewish people is more than that of just individuals. The Jewish people will always remember how in our time of great need, when the world stood by and did nothing, the Chinese people opened their country and hearts to Jewish refugees.
GT: Tourism can effectively facilitate people-to-people exchanges. About 110,000 Chinese tourists visit Israel every year. Israel's Ministry of Tourism set a goal of 400,000 Chinese tourists in the next four years. Many Chinese people are concerned about their "safety" when planning a trip to Israel. How do you respond to this concern?
Heifetz: Israel is one of the safest countries in the world; many Chinese people ask me this question and the only answer I can give is to go and see for yourselves. Every Chinese person that returns from Israel is a better ambassador than I am. Israel has diverse scenery such as snowy mountains in the north; beautiful beaches along the coastline and desert in the south, ancient cities such as Jerusalem and Jaffa as well as young and innovative cities such as Tel Aviv.
GT: In order to attract more Chinese tourists to Israel, will the government consider further relaxing visa conditions for Chinese people? For instance, will the Israeli government introduce visa-on-arrival or visa-free policy in the future?
Heifetz: Our visa policy is very simple. Since 2016, Israel and China have a ten-year multiple entrance visa for tourists and businessmen. Besides Israel, China has this agreement only with the US and Canada. Furthermore, this year we opened three new visa centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. In addition, we introduced a visa fast lane, through which you can get a ten-year visa in just 24 hours.
GT: Many countries have convenient measures for Chinese tourists, such as signs in Chinese language, Chinese food and Chinese-speaking tour guides. Will Israel take some concrete measures to help Chinese tourists in the future? What are the steps you will plan?
Heifetz: Israel welcomes and encourages Chinese people to travel to Israel. There are many measures that we are taking to adjust Israel's tourism facilities for Chinese tourists. Besides our simple visa policy, there are 13 direct flights per week operating between China and Israel: six weekly flights from Beijing, three from Shanghai, two from Chengdu and two more from Guangzhou. Our tourism industry makes great efforts to accommodate the needs of Chinese tourists. As such, some hotels are serving Chinese food, and the Ministry of Tourism is training Chinese-speaking tour guides. There are even a few tourist guidebooks about Israel in the Chinese language.
GT: In recent years, technology companies in Israel have gained enormous attention from Chinese investors. It is said that Israel is good at going from 0 to 1, while China is good at going from 1 to 100. How will the cooperation between China and Israel benefit both countries?
Heifetz: The most successful examples of our bilateral cooperation are in the area of trade, business and investment. Trade between China and Israel has reached more than $11 billion since we established diplomatic ties in 1992. In 2015, Chinese investments in Israel reached more than half a billion dollars. Chinese companies have opened R&D centers in Israel, and Israeli hi-tech companies have opened offices in China.
GT: You have said on multiple occasions that Israel supports the Belt and Road initiative. What kind of role do you expect Israel to play in the initiative?
Heifetz: Israel supports the BRI. We are one of the founding member countries of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (
AIIB), and we are looking forward to taking a constructive part in BRI-related projects, especially in the field of technology. Only recently, we had a multilateral project as part of the BRI in collaboration with the Chinese-Israeli International Centre for Training in Agriculture (CIICTA). In this project, CIICTA invited an Israeli agricultural expert to give lectures in the field of practical applications of agricultural technology in sun houses to representatives of other BRI countries. This is a wonderful example of how Israel can contribute its knowledge and expertise to other countries and take part in the BRI.
GT: Is there a possibility of China and Israel cooperating to help Central Asian countries, such as Kazakhstan, in high-tech agricultural production?
Heifetz: Israel is a superpower in the field of agriculture. Since Israel does not have many natural resources, we have to use technology to find other solutions. We have a lot of experience and knowledge in this field, and are looking forward to contributing our knowledge to other countries.
On November 15 we had the China-Israel Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture Innovation Cooperation. This meeting was one of the immediate outcomes of Vice President Wang Qishan's visit to Israel. After the meeting, both sides headed the China-Israel Agriculture Innovation Cooperation Conference with leading Chinese and Israeli speakers from government, industry and academia. The panels covered agricultural technologies cooperation and human resources under the Belt and Road initiative.
GT: Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan headed a Chinese delegation to the Israeli Innovation Summit, organized by the Prime Minister's Office, this October. As both Wang and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played an important role in the innovation summit committee, what does this mean for the future of China-Israel ties?
Heifetz: The visit of Vice President Wang Qishan was very significant and meaningful for the future of mutual ties. It was the highest-ranked visit in almost 20 years and contributed to Israeli and Chinese ties. In this visit, together with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Vice President Wang chaired the fourth meeting of the Israel-China Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation. The JCIC is very important for economic ties, and I believe that in the field of innovation, Israel and China are natural partners that can innovate and develop together.
GT: This year marks the 70th anniversary of Israel's independence, which gives the Global Times and the Israeli embassy an opportunity to co-publish this special edition. Why do you choose the Global Times? What content do you want to read in this special edition? Besides, what are the other China-Israel cooperation plans or activities that we can expect?
Heifetz: This year marks the 70th anniversary of Israel's independence, so we organized many activities, such as the co-publishing of the special edition with the Global Times.
The year of 70 is very unique. Several months ago, we specially invited top-level winemakers to Beijing to make a special wine named "Double 70" together with renowned Chinese winemakers. This is also to celebrate the upcoming 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. We hope the China-Israel friendship will be deep and eternal as the wine.
I read the Global times every day. If you want to understand China, I think you must read the Global times. I want your readers to know more about Israel and I hope they will find this special edition interesting and enriching.