Op Eds & Articles
60 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Israel-Asia Center speaks to some of the people shaping Israel-China relations in the fields of diplomacy, business, education and culture, on their perspectives of the past – and prospects for the future.
Israel-Asia Center: What are the key areas of common interest between the two countries and where do you see room for growth in the bilateral relationship?
The commonalities between China and Israel go back three or four thousand years and this is one of the strengths of Israel here because the Chinese look upon themselves – and very proudly so – as a very ancient civilization going back thousands of years, and there are not many other civilizations like us and the Chinese that are here from those days until today.
And the other thing is that both Israel and China did something outstanding during the last sixty years, and the Chinese look upon that also as creating a small miracle. They created a huge miracle, and then another thing that is very common between the two countries, and I think this creates a situation in which there’s no other place in the world where the image of Israel, the branding of Israel and the attitude towards Israel is so positive as it is in China. Our main goal is not to lose points here – to maintain and, if possible, to strengthen it – but it’s not easy because the starting point is really very, very high.
IAC: How do you feel Israel, as such a small country, can effectively promote itself in such a large and powerful country like China?
Again, the knowledge about Israel in China is totally irrelevant to Israel’s size. Israel is considered in China much bigger than what it really is. When I tell Chinese the real size and population of Israel, they don’t really believe it. The only thing we consider is pointing out the areas in civil technology, in agriculture, in water, in biotechnology where China is really going ahead very, very swiftly, and where Israeli technologies may be of demand, may be of higher relevance to the Chinese.
IAC: Israel recently opened a new consulate in Guangzhou. What are you aiming at in that region?
The southern part of China is one of the strongest economic zones of the country, and it was not properly covered by us before. We have an embassy dealing with the capital and with some of the provinces. We have a consulate general in Shanghai that is dealing with Shanghai, Jiangsu and another two or three provinces there. And the southern part of China, with its importance, was a bit neglected. So a few years ago before coming here, I started explaining to my political masters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs how important it is to expand our presence in China – not only strengthening the existing embassy and consulates, but also by opening a new one in Guangzhou. And I’m very happy that it started working and immediately giving excellent service to the clients – meaning Israeli exporters and investors. It’s working very well now.
IAC: Earlier this year, Israel opened a tourism office in Beijing. How is Israel marketing itself to the Chinese market?
How Israel markets itself? The answer is not enough. But again the starting point is very advantageous because no other place in the world has such a positive interest in everything that happens in Israel – in its history and in its present. I’ve been interviewed dozens if not hundreds of times before the agreement was signed, and one of the first questions almost always (that is, after the question: ‘How can I can explain that the Jews are so smart?’) was when are we starting to promote and to bring Chinese tourists to Israel.
So the Ministry of Tourism did open a branch here. It is my opinion that we are not doing enough promotion, and again I think promotion of tourism in China could have been much easier than in so many other places because of the keen interest that already exists here among the public, so I believe that a little push can bring to us tens of thousands – if not more – Chinese tourists. There are a lot of Chinese tourists going to our region – to Egypt, to the Mediterranean. Chinese tourists like to go to several countries on the same trip, and we could easily be a destination for Chinese tourism much more than today.
IAC: How much do international affairs impinge on the Israel-China relationship?
I think that the answer would be less than anywhere else in the world. The Chinese are watching, they are interested, but I think they are more balanced than other countries, so generally, what you call international affairs, do not interfere with the good relations between China and Israel.
IAC: Do you see China playing an increased role as a peacemaker in the Middle East?
China’s international position and importance is growing very, very rapidly. Countries are listening to China. China shows interest in what’s happening in the Middle East. They have a special envoy that has been appointed by the Chinese leadership that is coming and going between Beijing and the capitals of the Middle East, bringing messages and receiving messages. China certainly has the power to influence the parties in the Middle East, towards working hard on achieving peace in the region which, by the way, is also very important to China’s interests.
IAC: How did events in Gaza in January 2009 impact on your work?
It have us a lot of work. We had very easy and excellent access to the Chinese media, which was very balanced, like the Chinese always is. They were bringing in people who spoke from the other side, but they always gave us the opportunity to give our side of the story. I remember I was running from one studio to another – radio, television, newspapers, dot coms and so on – and we were able to bring in Israeli experts, Israeli leaders. So the Chinese public received a very, very balanced picture of what was going on, and I think that is why they were less critical than in other places around the world.
IAC: What do you feel is the role of the Jewish Diaspora in furthering Israel-China relations?
Well, the Jewish organizations – mainly in the United States – are deeply interested in China-Israel relations. In my previous capacity in charge of Israel’s relations with Asia, I used to be in constant touch with the leadership of Jewish communities – mainly in the United States – briefing them periodically about the developments in China-Israel relations. They come here from time to time to meet with the Chinese to hear their side, and they are also encouraging the Chinese to further develop in a positive way their relations with Israel.
IAC: Where do you see the Israel-China relationship 10 years from now?
They are developing. We are working very hard on promoting them. I believe very much in creating the personal exposure of leadership, like our president who was here last August for the opening of the Olympic Games, and then he met with the Chinese leadership. We want to expand this, and we are working very hard on promoting bilateral trade and Israeli exports here. Exactly where it will take us, I can’t tell you, but I hope it’s definitely going to be even better than today.
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