As part of the ongoing efforts to enhance Sino-Israel relations, a delegation of 10 prominent Chinese academic leaders and officials is visiting Israel this week for intensive dialogue and briefings with their Israeli counterparts in government, academia and policy-making circles. The program is the result of a partnership between the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and Project Interchange, in cooperation with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Led by Professor Yiyi Chen, of Berkeley, Peking University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the study tour is intended to strengthen bilateral ties, with a special focus on Israeli strategic affairs, the peace process, Iran and Israel study programs in China.

This mission is the culmination of an intensive immersion seminar in Shanghai in late December, when 35 Chinese policymakers, government advisors and academics met with leading Israeli scholars to explore Israeli politics, history and culture.

“The seminar offered a forum for an open, frank conversation about important issues of mutual interest for China and Israel,” said Sanford R. (“Sandy”) Cardin, President of the Schusterman Family Foundation. “It was an especially important exchange because the people present have a direct hand in shaping Chinese policy toward the Middle East.”

The study tour portion of the program brings this prominent Chinese delegation to Israel to explore areas for future collaboration and potential joint initiatives. The trip includes meetings with influential figures across the political and social spectrum, including Israeli, Palestinian and Israeli Arab leaders. In addition to senior-level meetings with their counterparts at Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the delegation will traverse much of Israel, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Northern border and the Dead Sea for a first-hand look at Israel “beyond-the-headlines.”

The Schusterman Family Foundation first became involved in efforts to enhance Sino-Israel relations in 2009 by sponsoring two seminars, one at Peking University and one at Shandong University, for more than 130 senior academics, journalists and think tank scholars. Leading Israeli professors joined both seminars, marking the first opportunity for Chinese scholars of Israel, the Middle East and Judaism to communicate and engage with Israeli scholars.

While much progress has been made in Sino-Israel relations since 1992 when the two countries established diplomatic ties, much work remains to strengthen the bilateral relationship, which the Chinese still view as part of the overarching Sino-American relationship. Indeed, despite interest in Jewish culture, Middle East policy and even Hebrew language, few Chinese scholars have ever traveled to Israel, and Israel is rarely, if ever, the explicit subject of scholarly research. This trip to Israel is a natural extension of the Schusterman Foundation’s ongoing relationship with Project Interchange, whose outstanding seminars in Israel for influential American leaders the Foundation has long supported.

The seminar in Israel will run through January 21, 2011.