"I'm a big fan of Chengdu"
　　——Exclusive interview with Mr.Ran Peleg， Consul General of lsrael in Chengdu
　　随着“一带一路”倡议的不断推进，中国和以色列两国近年经贸关系发展迅猛，科技创新交流日益升温。2017年，中国、以色列双边贸易额超过130亿美元，中国是以色列在亚洲的第一大贸易伙伴和在全球的第三大贸易伙伴。以色列总理内塔尼亚胡曾表示，“中国和以色列是天作之合，中国的能力、远见与以色列的技术、创新可以很好地结合在一起。”2018年5月，中以已启动第四轮自贸区谈判，自贸区建成后，将可能使双方现有的贸易额翻一番。
　　同时，中国西南地区与以色列的合作也在不断拓展。2018年10月，新任以色列驻成都总领事潘立文走马上任，曾任职以色列驻华大使馆新闻发言人的他在推动中以合作交流方面经验丰富，对于持续深化两国合作他有哪些见解？对与中国西南地区的合作又有哪些规划？本刊记者为此专访了潘立文。

“一直为两国交流而努力”

　　急着：中以两国当前合作的重点是什么？
　　潘立文：以创新为基础的合作是以中合作的重要方向。过去十年，我一直都在为推动以中合作交流而努力，我见证了两国间的很多创新合作项目，以创新为驱动力的双方关系正处于最好的历史机遇期。我们创新方面的优势，正符合中国当前经济发展的需求。很多中国企业已经开始投资以色列，在我们国家设立研发中心。如今，以色列1/4的投资来自中国，创新合作正以更多形式在两国之间展开。相信未来两国在这一领域还有更多探索的空间。
　　2017年，两国正式建立“创新全面伙伴关系”。2018年10月24日，在中以创新合作联合委员会第四次会议上，中国国家副主席王岐山与以色列总理内塔尼亚胡共同签署了《中以创新合作行动计划（2018-2021）》，其包括医疗健康、科技、教育等领域的合作意向。这是2015年两国创新合作计划的升级，创新合作已经迈上了新台阶。

“从农业到医疗，多方面的合作”

　　记者：在您担任驻成都总领事的未来几年内，与包括四川在内的西南地区将有哪些合作计划？
　　潘立文：从开设以色列驻成都总领事馆以来，四川与以色列已经开展了多方面的合作。接下来，推动与西南地区在创新领域的合作，探索双方在农业、水、卫生和教育等方面需求的匹配之处，促成更多的合作项目，是我任期内的主要目标。其中，数字医疗、新型教育等高科技领域是我们的优势之一，我希望把这些优势带到西南地区，提高当地人民的生活质量。教育方面，我们希望通过搭建数字教育、远程教育平台，帮助西部偏远地区发展教育。
　　关于数字医疗方面，2018年两国卫生部门签署了数字医疗合作计划。前不久，以色列与四川卫健委签署了医疗合作协议，2019年有两场医疗研讨会在中国召开，两国闯将有更多的医疗培训合作。包括“医疗小丑”等计划，借助幽默的力量，运用心灵疗法，帮助患者更好地战胜疾病。

“我喜欢川菜，越辣越好”

　　记者：能否与我们分享一下您与四川的缘分以及对成都的印象？
　　潘立文：可以說，我是成都的忠实粉丝。2006年，我以背包客的身份和女朋友（现妻子）第一次来四川旅游，骑着摩托车环游，去了理塘、亚丁、康定，最后到了成都，在这里我品尝了各种美食。在一家川菜馆中，我向女朋友求了婚。之后在北京以色列驻华大使馆工作期间，我又未了成都好多次。每次来都有惊喜。这里宜人的气候、美丽的景色、多样的美食、深厚的人文、人民积极向上的生活态度及热情好客的品质都让我着迷。现在，我再次来到这里，不再是游客，而是一个成都居民，我将和我的家人在这里生活好几年。如今，我已经是4个孩子的父亲，其中一个2019年即将出生。对未来在成都的工作生活，我都充满了期待。
　　说起成都美食，我特别喜欢川菜，越辣越好，麻婆豆腐、火锅、回锅肉等等，都是我的最爱。当然，成都的快速发展更让我惊喜，在我看来，这里的发展速度比北上广还要陕。
　　很多中国企业已经开始投资以色列，在我们国家设立研发中心。如今，以色列l/4的投资来自中国。
　　As China keeps making progressin the Belt and Road Initiative，trade ties between China and Israel aresoaring in recent years and exchanges intechnological innovation keep increasing.In 2017， China-Israel bilateral tradevolume exceeded USD 13 billion. Chinahas become the largest trade partner ofIsrael in Asia and the third largest tradepartner in the world. Benjamin Netanyahu，Prime Minister of lsrael， noted that "traderelation between Israel and China is amarriage made in heaven. China's strengthand foresight and Israel's proven abilityto be at the cutting edge of technologicalinnovation can combine together and leadto great results." Since May 2018， Chinaand Israel have launched the fourth roundof negotiation on free trade zone. Whenthe zone is completed， it can double thetrade volume between the two countries. 　　In addition， the cooperation betweenChina's southwest region and Israel alsokeeps expanding. In October 2018， RanPeleg， new Consul General of Israel inChengdu， came into office. As a formerspokesman， Embassy of lsrael in Beijing，Ran Peleg has a lot of experience inChina-Israel cooperation and exchanges.So what does he think about the deepeningbilateral cooperation and what is he goingto do about cooperation with China'ssouthwest region？ Here is the interviewwith him.

"keeping making effort in China-Israel exchanges "

　　Recporter：What is the top topic inChina-Israel cooperation？
　　Ran Peleg： Cooperation based oninnovation is the important directionbetween China and Israel. Over the pastdecade， I have endeavored to promotecooperation and communications betweenChina and Israel， during which I witnessedthat many innovation cooperation projectswere established. Now bilateral relationdriven by innovation is facing the besthistorical opportunity. Israel's advantagein innovation is in line with the needof China's economy. Many Chineseenterprises began to invest investing inIsrael and establish R&D centers here.Currently， one quarter of investment inIsrael comes from China， and innovativecooperation between the two countries isbecoming more diversified. I believe thatthere will be more space to explore in thiscooperation field in the future.
　　In 2017， the China-Israel innovativecomprehensive partnership wasestablished. On 24 0ctober 2018， ChineseVice President Wang Qishan and IsraeliPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuattended the fourth meeting of China-Israel Joint Committee on InnovationCooperation and signed an action planfor China-Israel Innovation Cooperationfrom 2018 t0 2021， including cooperationintention in health care， technology，education etc. It is an upgrading inbilateral innovation cooperation since2015， ushering it into a new era."cooperation will be carried out inmany fields， such as agriculture andhealth care"
　　Reporter： In the next few years， whatare you going To do during your tenureabout the

cooperation with the southeastregion which includes Sichuan Province？

　　Ran Peleg： Since the consulate generalof lsrael in Chengdu was set up， Sichuanand Israel have carried out cooperationin many fields. In the next few years， theprimary goal during my tenure is to boostinnovation cooperation with the southwestregion， including synergy in agriculture，water resource， sanitation and education，and facilitate more cooperation projects.Among the cooperation， digital healthcare and new education in hi-tech field arewhat we are strong at， so I hope to bringthese advantages to the southwest region，in order to improve the quality of life oflocals. In education field， we wish to helpdevelop education in some remote areasin the west by establishing digital anddistance education platforms. 　　As for digital health， in 2018， theministries of health in the two countriessigned collaboration agreements in thefield of digital health care. Recently，Israel and Health Commission of SichuanProvince signed healthcare agreement.In 2019， China will hold two healthcareseminars and the two countries willembrace more medical and trainingcooperation， including the Medical Clownwhich aims to assist patients to copewith illness through humor and mentaltreatment.

"I love Sichuan cuisine. The spicier it tastes， the more I enjoy it"

　　Reporter： Could you share the storybetween you and Sichuan and yourimpression on Chengdn？
　　Ran Peleg： I have to say I'm a bigfan of Chengdu. In 2006， I， togetherwith my girlfriend （now my wife），made a backpack tour in Sichuan. Thatwas the first time we came here， duringwhich we took a motorbike and wentto several places in Sichuan， such asLitang， Yading and Kangding， and finallyarrived in Chengdu where I sampledvarious delicious food. And in a Sichuanrestaurant， I proposed to my girlfriend.Later， I revisited Chengdu for many timeswhen I worked at Embassy oflsrael inBeijing. Every time it impressed me a lot.I feel enchanted with the pleasant climate，gorgeous scenery， various cuisine， andprofound culture in Chengdu， as wellas Chengdu people's positive attitudestowards life and their hospitality. Now， Icame here again， but not as a tourist， sinceI will settle and live here with my familyfor the next few years. So far， I have fourchildren and one is about to be born in2019. I'm looking forward to future workand life in Chengdu.
　　Speaking of Chengdu cuisine， I haveto say， I love Sichuan cuisine very much，and the spicier it tastes， the more I enjoyit. Mapo tofu， hotpot， twice cooked porkslices， to name a few， are all my favoritedishes. Certainly， what surprises me mostshould be Chengdu's fast development.For me， it grows even faster than Beijing，Shanghai and Guangzhou.