Jerusalem, January.16th 2002


Your Excellency,

On behalf of the Government and people of Israel, I have the pleasure of conveying our warm congratulations to the Government and people of China, and to you personally, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the State of Israel and the People’s Republic of China.

Israel and China are similar in many ways. Geographically, our two countries are located on opposite ends of the Asian continent. Both are firmly rooted in ancient civilizations; the Chinese and Jewish peoples have endured long years of struggle and, tenaciously clinging to their proud cultures, survived. Both nations were “reborn” just over half a century ago. Although diplomatic relations between us were established only in 1992, Israel was the first state in the Middle East to recognize the People’s Republic of China ,in 1950. Today, China is not only the most populous country in the world, but you also enjoy the world’s highest rate of economic growth, and act as a leading power in Asia and a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Israel recognizes the tremendous potential of its relationship with China. Over the last ten years, our bilateral relations have leaped forward in the fields of politics, economics, agriculture, culture and education, and we hope that these relations between our countries and peoples will continue to expand and grow deeper in the future.

During the past decade, many official visitors have traveled between Jerusalem and Beijing-among them, Israeli Presidents and Prime Ministers who have visited China, and Israeli and Chinese ministers and delegations representing various areas of interest. These exchanges have enhanced our two people’s knowledge of each other and strengthened the ties between us. The historic visit to Israel of President Jiang Zemin in April 2000 was extremely important, and we hope that other senior Chinese officials will visit Israel in the future.

May Israel and the People’s Republic of China continue to work together in friendly cooperation, for the mutual prosperity and benefit of both our people.

Accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.



                                   Sincerely,

                                  Ariel Sharon