China and Israel's bilateral ties 'unparalleled': Nadai

By Zhao Chunzhe (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-09-10 06:39

China's quick advancement over the past few decades has made certain people take notice, including Israel's ambassador to China Amos Nadai. "What’s going on in this country is a very, very big 'Wow'," Nadai told China Daily in an exclusive interview. "What you see here is really unbelievable. I know China is advancing very quickly. I don’t think there are other countries that did what China did in the last 30 years," he said.

Although bilateral ties between China and Israel are not long diplomatically, the connection between the Chinese and Jewish people goes back to the Song Dynasty over one thousand years ago. The Chinese even helped the Jewish people during World War II, something "Jewish people will always be very grateful to China for," the ambassador said.

There has been a lot of interaction between the two people, even before the establishment of diplomatic relations. "Israel was among the countries out of this region to have recognized the PRC and China was among the first countries to recognize the state of Israel in the early 1950s," Nadai explained.

Israel and China will soon be marking the 18th year of diplomatic relations. "In Hebrew, '18' represents life, [and] means life and living," the ambassador said. "What the two countries achieved in the 18 years is in international diplomacy," he added.

Nadai attributes the two nation’s achievements to similar backgrounds. "Both China and Israel are countries with long history and tradition, which created a lot of understanding and similar ground between the two peoples,"he said.

Trade between Israel and China is flourishing. Eighteen years ago, trade was $15 million; it has rocketed to $7.5 billion today. There are also deep cultural exchanges between the two countries: Israel brings China musicians and art, while the Chinese gives national opera and theatre.

"The bilateral relations are comprehensive and compatible," Nadai noted.

Amos Nadai has served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to China since 2007. He previously served as Deputy Director General, Asia and the Pacific Division. Nadai speaks English, French, Hungarian, Japanese and Hebrew. He has two daughters, Liat and Yael, with his wife Ruth.