Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirms death of 57-year-old Du Wei; police at scene; death comes at delicate time for Israel-China relations after Pompeo visit focused on issue
Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that the Chinese ambassador to Israel, Du Wei, 57, was found dead at his official residence in the coastal town of Herzliya.
The foreign ministry said police were on the scene.
According to the Ynet news site, aides tried to wake Du and found him in his bed, not breathing. The initial assessment was that he had suffered cardiac arrest during the night.
Channel 12 news reported there were no external signs of violence on Du’s body.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said director-general Yuval Rotem spoke with deputy ambassador Dai Yuming and expressed his condolences, adding that the ministry would provide any assistance it could.
Du was married and had one son, the ministry said, adding that his family members were not in Israel with him.
He arrived in Israel on February 15 to take up his posting, and immediately spent two weeks in quarantine due to coronavirus regulations. He was unable to present his credentials to President Reuven Rivlin in person due to the pandemic.
Du, who was born in Shandong Province, was a professional diplomat who previously served in Ukraine.
There was no immediate comment from Chinese officials.
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Du’s death came at a delicate time for Israel-China relations, just days after a whirlwind visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. State Department officials said a main topic of discussion was Washington’s concerns over Israel’s trade relationship with China, citing its lack of transparency and problematic trade practices.
China on Friday assailed the US administration for attacking Beijing’s investments in Israel as a threat, as well for accusing the Asian country of hiding information about the coronavirus and hampering international efforts to clamp down on the disease.
In a statement Friday, China’s embassy in Israel said the accusations were “absurd” and said it hoped its “Jewish friends” in Israel will not only succeed in defeating the virus but also the “political virus” — an apparent reference to accusations leveled at Beijing by Pompeo.
The statement also said that “Jewish friends know… well” that historically, “pandemic is accompanied by conspiracies and the dark mentality of seeking scapegoats.”
Senior security officials in both countries have sounded alarm bells over Chinese involvement in infrastructure projects, warning they are a security risk and could jeopardize ties with the US.
The embassy in its statement said Pompeo has long claimed there are security risks in cooperation with China, “without producing any concrete evidence.”
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It said Israeli-Chinese cooperation was “win-win in nature,” and it claimed the assertions of a Chinese “buy up” of Israel was ridiculous, as “China’s investment in Israel only accounts for 0.4 percent of China’s investment across the world and 3% of the foreign investment flown into Israel.”
In October, under pressure from the US, Israel’s security cabinet announced the formation of a new advisory panel to review foreign investments in the country.
Pompeo and US President Donald Trump have also increasingly blamed China as coronavirus infection and death rates in the US have ballooned, saying it hid information about the outbreak during its initial stages and claiming there was evidence the virus had been accidentally released from a Chinese lab — though they have provided no corroboration.
source: Isrealitimes
