Yesterday, the Israeli embassy in Beijing held a grand reception, to celebrate 69 years of the Independence of Israel, government officials, diplomats, and friends from all walks of life came to participate.Speaking at the opening of the reception, the Israeli ambassador to China, Mr. Zvi Heifetz, expressed his gratitude to all the friends of Israel who arrive to celebrate its Independence Day. He recalled the difficult history of Israel and expressed his gratitude to the Chinese people who saved the Jews in the darkest days of World War II:
“Israel was established 69 years ago, after centuries of persecution and suffering, we returned to our historic homeland, regained our sovereignty and literally made "the desert bloom" in a variety of fields. Our country has managed to reach great success and transform into a strong modern state, despite its hostile environment and limited resources.
Although china and Israel differ and size and geography, we share a similar story, both of us are ancient civilizations who experiencing national renewal and success and who look forward to the future.We will never forget the goodwill of the Chinese people who provided shelter for thousands of persecuted Jews during our darkest hour. While the rest of the world stood still, the Chinese people found compassion in their hearts to help the Jewish people.”
This year China and Israel mark the 25th anniversary of the diplomatic relations. This is an opportunity to celebrate 25 years of great accomplishments and achievements that one of its highlights was PM Netanyahu’s visit on March.
One of the many accomplishments of the visit was the establishment of china Israel comprehensive innovative partnership. During the visit many important agreements were signed in various fields such as agriculture, science and technology, infrastructure and more. During the visit PM Netanyahu met with vice Premier Liu Yan Dong, which chaired the third meeting of the China Israel joint committee of innovation cooperation.
Israel sees Innovation as the basis for its relations with China and the “belt and road” initiative as one of the main mechanism in which those relations can flourish even further. Israel joined the AIIB in 2015 and is looking forward to take a constructive and positive role in this important imitative. The ambassador also introduced the 25th anniversary’s logo “it symbolizes the deep connection between the Chinese and the Jewish people, which started on the ancient Silk Road, formally established 25 years ago and I can only wish that will continue to grow in the future.”
The logo was designed by a team led by Prof. Song Xiewei, Dean of School of Design of China Academy of Fine Arts with the consultation of the Israeli designer and architect, Mr. Haim Dottan.