On May 8, 2018, Consulate General of Israel in Chengdu hosted an Independence Day reception in Chengdu to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel.
At the opening ceremony of the reception, the Consul General, Amir Lati addressed that in the past year, the bilateral cooperation between Israel and southwestern China has developed rapidly. At the beginning of this year, the Israeli-Sichuan Research and Development Cooperation Project started the first round of collection. In the meantime, many fields such as scientific and technological innovation, modern agriculture, health care and cultural education have been implemented and have achieved great results.
The past year was remarkable since it has witnessed the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relation between Israel and China. Also in last year, China and Israel announced jointly to develop an Innovative Comprehensive Partnership. Within this framework and under the Go West and One Belt One Road strategies, Israel and China will further deepen their mutual exchanges and cooperation in the future, and the southwest region and Israel will enjoy even greater potential. In the second half of this year, a direct flight from Chengdu to Tel Aviv is expected to launch, which will definitely advance the exchanges and cooperation between Israel and southwest China. Israel is looking forward to the opening of this route. Besides, the health departments of both sides have reached a preliminary consensus in the field of health care, and is about to sign a statement of intergovernmental cooperation to set up a platform for governmental cooperation.
Subsequently, the Vice Governor of the People's Government of Sichuan Province, Zhu Hexin, delivered a speech. First, he congratulated Israeli friends living in Sichuan on behalf of government. He said that in the past 26 years, bilateral relations between have maintained a steady and healthy development, high exchange visits between the two countries are frequent, practical cooperation has been steadily advancing, cultural exchanges have become increasingly close, and the friendly exchanges and cooperation between Sichuan and Israel have also entered a period of acceleration. What worth looking forward to is that Sichuan airlines will open a direct route from Chengdu to Tel Aviv this year, and will further deepen cooperation between the two regions in the fields of economic and trade, humanities and tourism, Zhu Hexin also sincerely invited more Israeli friends to travel and invest in Sichuan, sharing the new opportunities for Sichuan's development and jointly push the friendship of Sichuan and Israel to a higher stage.
Deputy Mayor of the People's Government of Sichuan Province, Fan Yi, was invited to be present. He expressed holiday wishes to the Consulate General of Israel in Chengdu and all Israeli friends living in this city. He also delivered his gratitude to the Consulate General and their brilliant work to promote friendly relations between Chengdu and Israel. He welcomed and hoped that both sides would continue to strengthen cooperation in modern agriculture, innovation entrepreneurship, health care, cultural education and direct flight.
Before the event, the Consulate General has moved some famous sightseeing spots such as the Wailing Wall, Dead Sea, Bahai Garden from Israel to Chengdu. They were very popular among guests who took photos with these spots to experience a deep Israeli tour there.
There were delicious food and wine at the banquet, a top chef from Israel and star chefs of the five-star hotel jointly served with Israeli cuisine and Chinese dishes for guests feeling at home.