According to a senior Israeli foreign ministry official, “Israel has the reputation of a country that goes way beyond expectations to help its nationals across the world.”
The Chinese clearly agree. With the growth of Chinese tourism across the world over the past few years, Beijing decided to send a special delegation to Israel to learn about the aid provided by the foreign ministry in times of distress to Israelis traveling abroad.
The delegation was headed by the Chinese deputy foreign minister for legislation affairs and head of the Chinese foreign ministry’s consular department, who met with senior foreign ministry officials.
The Chinese were interested in the nature of the cases in which Israel helps its citizens around the world, including incidents in which hikers are rescued and the steps taken in cases of missing people, road accidents, illnesses, the need to evacuate bodies, natural disasters, political instability and drug offenses.
The Chinese also expressed interest in the treatment of Israeli prisoners abroad.