On December 19, 2013, Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the welcoming dinner co-hosted by Israeli friendship groups in Jerusalem and delivered a speech.

Wang Yi said, this visit is for friendship. China and Israel enjoy a long history of friendship. During the World War II, when many countries shut the door to the Jews, the Chinese people sheltered a large number of Jewish refugees with their open arms, offering help not only for them taking refuge but also for setting down. A friend in need is a friend indeed. The friendship sealed in adversity between the two peoples is extremely valuable, and should always be carried forward. China and Israel both own a long-standing civilization, and have appreciated each other, learned from each other, and communicated with each other since long ago, which laid the foundation of our friendship. Now the most important mission for us is to pass the friendship on to the young people and to the future generations. We believe that the friendly exchanges between us will continue to deepen and develop.

Wang Yi said, this visit is for cooperation. China and Israel are highly complementary in their economic development. Israel is a country of innovation. China promotes innovation strategy and owns the market, the capital and abundant human resources. The two countries combining respective advantages will open up broad prospects for bilateral development, and will also play an important role in the world economy. If embedding Israel, as the wisdom "chip", in China, which is a high-speed running engine, enormous energy will burst out.

China is moving fast towards national rejuvenation, and we name it the Chinese dream. The Chinese dream is connected with the dreams of the rest of the world, and the realization of the Chinese dream will benefit countries and peoples around the world. I hope and believe that the pace of the people of Israel will go with the process of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Wang Yi said, this visit is also for peace. China will speed up opening-up to the west, looking towards the broader Eurasia. We have already proposed to build the new Silk Road economic belt across Eurasia, and as well the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st century that connects the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic. The two silk roads are likely to meet in the Middle East. China looks forward to the peace in the Middle East and amity among the regional countries. We are also willing to make our own contributions to and play our proper roles in peace, stability, development and prosperity of the Middle East. Now the opportunity of peace once again returns to the region. We hope that Israel, Palestine and other Middle East countries will firmly grasp the opportunity for peace, moving toward the same direction with each other, sending out friendly messages to each other, and solving each other’s problems through peaceful negotiations. As a friend of all countries in the Middle East, China is willing to build the bridge, to pave the way, and to cheer for the peace process. We hope the call for peace will echo across the Middle East.