Making Friends: China Grants Israeli Ambassador Honorary Citizenship
While so many countries are shunning Israel these days, China is going against the grain by officially and ceremoniously recognizing its ties with the Jewish State.
Ynet reported that on Wednesday, the Israeli ambassador to China, Amos Nadai, was granted honorary citizenship to Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province in western China. This is the first time such an honor was bestowed on a foreign ambassador. Nadai has been Israel’s ambassador to China since August 2007.
The honor came seven months after the Israeli embassy in Beijing held a week-long celebration of Israeli culture and commerce in Chengdu called “Israel Week.” The event marked the 18th anniversary of Israel-China diplomatic relations, and served as an opportunity for Israel to positively brand itself and introduce itself to the Chinese in a multifaceted way.
In answering a question in an interview for the Israel-Asia Center about how Israel, such a small country, can effectively promote itself in huge China, Nadai had the following to say:
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.
In other words, when it comes to making friends with China, Israel reassures us that size doesn’t matter.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
