by Xu Gang, He Yufei
TEL AVIV, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Israeli President Shimon Peres, dressed in a black suit, held a little Chinese girl in his arms, smiling affectionately.
The girl beamed, looking at the white-haired Israeli leader, curiously and coyly.
The moving scene, seen at Thursday night's reception held at the residence of Chinese Ambassador to Israel Zhao Jun, was another vivid indication of the friendly relationship between China and Israel.
The reception, attended by about 600 guests, was held by the Chinese Embassy in Israel to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Guests were pleased to see the decor of Chinese red lanterns, listen to traditional Chinese instrumental music and have delicious Chinese dishes, with the highlight of the reception being the 20-minute fireworks.
"Israel loves China," Peres told the audience in English at the opening of his speech delivered at the reception. The heartwarming words won warm applause.
The Israeli president, who has visited China on several occasions, went on to laud the great achievements made by China over the past 60 years.
When he visited China for the first time in 1993 as Israeli foreign minister, there were a lot of bicycles on the street and people were dressed in somewhat uniform clothes, recalled 86-year-old Peres, adding that when he went to China to attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he noted a dramatic change.
Nowadays in China, bicycles have been replaced by cars, and people wear colorful clothes, said the Israeli leader, noting that due to the great achievements made by China over the past years, the Chinese people are now becoming more affluent, confident and proud of their amazing success.
Meanwhile, Peres praised the role China is now playing in the world stage.
China, one of the leading economies in the world, currently plays an important role in the international community, said the Israeli president, noting that "A peaceful China is a peaceful world."
Before Peres' speech, Zhao said in his opening speech that China has made remarkable achievements over the years, stressing that despite the conspicuous progress, China remains a developing country and will work hard to continue its development.
The Chinese ambassador said the reception, held a few days after Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, was also held to celebrate the 17th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Israel.
According to Zhao, the Sino-Israeli relationship is continuing to develop smoothly in many fields, especially in the economic sector, with China now being Israel's biggest trading partner in Asia.
The Chinese ambassador also mentioned the "Experience China in Israel" event, which will be held in October in Israel in a bid to show the development of China in many domains: education, economy, technology and especially the Chinese contemporary culture.
Among the guests, Avishay I. Gottdiener, Academic and Information Attache at the Israeli Embassy in China, said he is looking forward to seeing more cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Living in China for seven years now, he told Xinhua that the arts and culture center of China is expanding, adding that the Israeli Embassy recently opened two new consulate offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The two cities are seeing tremendous growth in achievements in cultivating art, said Gottdiener. "These cities are becoming the center of the art world in China."
The Israeli Embassy also looks forward to holding an Israeli Film Festival in Beijing in the future, added the attache.
Gong Jinpei, the Cultural Attache of Chinese Embassy in Israel, enthusiastically said he hopes there will be more Chinese tourists to visit Israel and get a better understanding of the country.
"While we continue to promote China's image to Israel, we also hope the Israelis will learn more about the Chinese traditional culture," said Gong, noting that growing cultural exchanges will further enhance the blooming friendship between the two countries.
Special Report: 60th Anniversary of Founding of PRC
