Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
Singing poetry, writing calligraphy, watching TV dramas... Exploring China's excellent traditional culture and modern life, the Palestinian Ambassador to China Farieds Mahdawi is enjoying it.
In a recent interview with the People's Daily Overseas Network, Mahdawi expressed a strong desire to further strengthen people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, "We must create more platforms and channels for direct exchanges between the two peoples, so that more Palestinian students can study in China and more Chinese tourists can travel to Palestine." ”
For China on the other side of Asia, many Palestinians, including Mahdawi, have a special affinity for being "as close as neighbors." China was one of the first countries to support the just cause of the Palestinian people and to recognize the PLO and the State of Palestine. Mahdawi said that since the Bandung Conference in 1955, Pakistan and China have begun to support each other, "China's experience in pursuing national independence and liberation has provided valuable reference for Palestine." ”
With the study of Chinese students in the 1970s, Palestinians' understanding of China has deepened. What is China that I have heard about countless times in the classroom and in my life? Before his first visit to China in 1986, Mahdawi wanted to find the answer to this question. Over the past 30 years, he has traveled to China again and again, refreshing his understanding of China again and again, "I have personally seen the great changes in China."
Mr. Mahdawi said it was no easy feat to feed 1.4 billion people and build the world's largest social security system on its own, but China did. The rapid development of Chinese science and technology and the super cohesion of Chinese society have also amazed Mahdawi: "Few countries in the world can achieve such achievements as China today." The Communist Party of China has led the people well and fulfilled its duties. I deeply feel that Chinese's identification with national development is from the heart, and I see the superiority of China's road. ”
The understanding of Chinese culture has enabled Mahdawi to think more deeply about the significance of China's development and growth in the world. In his view, China, which has a civilization of more than 5,000 years, has brought the world not only industrial products and high-tech products, but also culture and concepts. "Both China and the Arab world have made significant contributions to human civilization in history, but we will not feel superior to others because of this." Mahdawi said that especially in difficult countries such as China and Palestine, they firmly advocate that civilization is equal and that mutual respect is the proper attitude towards different civilizations. In this era of globalization, all countries are sitting in the same boat, so countries should pay more attention to respect and cooperation and less to conflict and confrontation.
In the more than 30 years of dealing with China, there are too many memorable stories in Makhdawi's life, but he always said: "My story with China is very long and still needs to be written." "There is no doubt that in Mahdawi's Chinese story, Pakistan and China will leave the most memorable moment in the fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic.
In February, Mahdawi expressed his support for China's fight against the epidemic: "We stand with China because China has stood with us throughout history. "Mahdawi, who has been in China, not only empathizes with what the 1.4 billion Chinese have encountered during the pandemic, but also has a unique observation from an international perspective. Mahdawi said that during the epidemic prevention period, the Chinese government maintained contact with the embassy every day through email and other means to update the epidemic situation and share the experience of epidemic prevention and control, "this is what our diplomats value most, and such measures ensure the openness and transparency of epidemic information." Another point that made Mahdawi feel deeply was that although the epidemic once pressed the "pause button" of normal production and life, China has always maintained the orderly operation of society, "Every week when my wife and I went shopping, we found that the shopping mall was full of materials, and the Palestinian students in Wuhan also reflected that their lives were very secure." ”
Mahdawi has witnessed every step of China's anti-epidemic struggle and knows the valuable value of China's anti-epidemic experience. "Many countries are learning from China's anti-epidemic experience." Mahdawi said that Palestine has also followed China's example and adopted strict epidemic prevention and control measures. This means that The palestinian economy, which was already underdeveloped, will suffer a severe shock, and the government will have to bear the additional burden of subsidizing those who have lost their livelihoods in the epidemic... Despite the difficulties it faces, China has set an example ahead of the curve, and the Palestinians have made trade-offs because public health comes first.
Mahdawi said that Palestine has not only benefited from China's anti-epidemic experience, but also received intellectual support and material assistance from China. China provided medical material assistance to Palestine for the first time, experts from the two countries held video experience exchange meetings many times, and Chinese medical experts went to Pakistan to support the frontline of the fight against the epidemic... One by one, China's help in the fight against the epidemic in Palestine has remained in the hearts of Mahdawi and many Palestinians. "Now is the time when all parties need to unite and cooperate, and china has fully demonstrated its responsibility as a big country by blaming and prevaricating that it cannot defeat the epidemic." Mahdawi said.
"I hope that with the joint efforts of all countries in the world, the epidemic will become history before the end of this year." Mahdawi is eager to see the haze of the epidemic dissipate as soon as possible and a series of cooperation projects between Pakistan and China can start as soon as possible.
Mahdawi said that for Palestine to retain people, it must convince people that the country has a future, that it is to achieve economic development and to provide jobs. In the process of achieving national development in Palestine, it is of great significance to deepen cooperation with China. In recent years, Pakistan-China cooperation has been steadily advancing, and new cooperation projects in education, tourism, economy and trade and other fields are being actively promoted.
Mahdawi has high hopes for the early conclusion of a Pakistan-China free trade agreement. In October 2018, the two sides formally launched negotiations, and the signing of the free trade agreement will further strengthen bilateral economic and trade relations and bring more benefits to enterprises and people of the two countries. Palestine has exquisite handicrafts, Nablus soap with thousands of years of manufacturing history, unique Dead Sea products, "I hope more Palestinian products will enter the Chinese market." ”
When the epidemic dissipated, Mahdawi welcomed more Chinese tourists into Palestine. "In 2019, the number of Chinese tourists traveling abroad reached 155 million, and even if 100,000 Of them could stay in Palestine for a week, the situation would be very different." Mahdawi believes that the arrival of Chinese tourists will not only drive the development of the Palestinian tourism industry, but also help promote the communication between the two peoples. Mahdawi said that third-party channels are often prone to distortion and misunderstanding, and people in the two countries need to strengthen mutual understanding through direct communication. At present, many Chinese media have opened Arabic channels, and the two countries have also carried out exchange projects such as book translation and publication, hoping that tourism can become another channel to narrow the spiritual distance between the people of the two countries. (Mao Li, Optional)
Editor-in-Charge: Yan Xiaomeng Xie Yan