FLAI Delegation Visits China

At the invitation of the CPAFFC， a 10-member delegation led by Chairman Haim Bibas of the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel (FLAI) visited Shanghai， Haikou， Guangzhou and Shenzhen from November 20 to 29， 2014.

It attended the UCLG World Council Meeting held in Haikou and the 2014 China International Friendship Cities Conference in Guangzhou.

During the UCLG meeting， CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin met with the delegation and recalled planting a friendship tree together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during her visit to Israel in early 2014.

Chairman Haim Bibas extended his gratitude to President Li Xiaolin for meeting the delegation and said their visit would be a good opportunity for Israeli mayors to gain further understanding of China and enhance cooperation in all fields with Chinese cities.

CPAFFC Vice President Hu Sishe met with the delegation in Beijing. He said the CPAFFC and the FLAI had engaged in friendly exchanges since 1995 playing an important role in promoting exchanges between local authorities.

Guangzhou Vice Mayor Xie Xiaodan met with the delegation at the 2014 China International Friendship Cities Conference. He said， despite its small territory， Israel was a world leader in many fields and he hoped to enhance exchanges in education and technology with it.

Delegation members said China and Israel had a long history and the friendship between the two peoples could be traced back to ancient times. They hoped to enhance cooperation with China and welcomed more Chinese mayors to visit Israel.

The mayors of Eilat， Karmiel and Migdal Ha’Emek， leading officials of the foreign affairs office of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， Huangshan City and Harbin had enthusiastic discussions on establishing contacts， assigning persons in charge of friendship cities’ exchanges， organizing students exchanges and carrying out agricultural programs， etc.

The delegation had meetings with the leaders of Kuantech (Shenzhen) Co.， Ltd. on cooperation in urban lighting system， and visited the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center.

Members of the delegation said that the visit not only helped them to gain a deeper understanding of China， but also gave them opportunities to meet Chinese local authorities to establish and deepen their relationship.

FLAI Vice Chairman Ruth Lande proposed designating 2015 as the Year of Friendship between Israel and China to organize more exchange activities.