China-Israel cooperation is win-win in nature

There has been a fast growth of Chinese tourists and investment in Israel over the recent years.

By WANG YONGJUN
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 20, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/LINTAO ZHANG/POOL)
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 20, 2017.
(photo credit: REUTERS/LINTAO ZHANG/POOL)
Recently, there have been some reports on the cooperation between China and Israel in The Jerusalem Post. Some have made groundless and unfair accusations against China. The Embassy has to make the following clarifications:
The allegations that “China is a known hacker” is a pure fabrication by some countries in the West, and China rejects this baseless defamation. In fact, China is one of the biggest victims of cyberattacks. In 2017 alone, more than 11 million Chinese computers and servers was attacked by IPs from outside China.
We urge other countries to respect the facts, stop defaming and discrediting China on the cybersecurity issue. We also call on friends of the press to quote responsible and fair resources, rather than misleading readers.
Regarding the cooperation with Israel, China strictly abides by the principles of mutual benefits and mutual respect. Just like Israel leads the world in innovation and technologies, China has the strength in manufacturing and infrastructure construction. Combining our comparative advantages, China and Israel have been making remarkable progress and delivering affordable and quality goods and services to the Israeli people.
As was noticed by some reports, there has been a fast growth of Chinese tourists and investment in Israel over the recent years. Indeed, in the first 10 months of 2018, more than 110,000 Chinese tourists visited Israel, while in 2015 the number was only 45,000. Bilateral trade is in the region of $13 billion and growing, and China’s investment has increased to $7 billion.
By all measures, these are hard-won fruits of cooperation. And they are particularly valuable if one considers the long distance and cultural differences between China and Israel, as well as the situation in the region.
In light of those natural and geopolitical constraints, what brings China and Israel together is not a so-called “gift giving,” but the commitment of both governments, the win-win outcomes and the friendship between our peoples.
We believe anyone who really cares about China-Israel relations and cares about Israel’s future growth will have no doubt on the many great things we can do together. And we hope the friendly Israeli people will not be swayed by some irresponsible propaganda, and join us in nurturing this burgeoning relationship.
The writer is spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Israel.