Israeli Official in China to Establish Relations : Diplomacy: Ties with the Jewish state will enable Beijing to attend next round of Mideast peace talks.

Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy arrived here Wednesday on a visit that is expected to establish Sino-Israeli diplomatic ties and thereby open the door for China to attend Middle East peace talks.

On arrival at Beijing airport, Levy said he was “very pleased” to be in China and that he expected his talks to “advance cooperation between the two nations of China and Israel.”

“It is a moment we have awaited for a long time,” Levy said.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Yang Fuchang, speaking with reporters Wednesday while escorting Levy through the old imperial palace, strongly implied that China and Israel will establish formal ties in the next few days.

Yang indicated this by saying that he will attend the new round of Middle East peace talks, scheduled to open in Moscow next week. Israel has previously said it would accept China’s presence only after being granted diplomatic recognition by Beijing.

Mark Regev, Israeli vice consul in Hong Kong, said in an interview before Levy’s arrival here that “hopefully by the end of the week, we will have officially announced diplomatic relations.”

Regev noted that “China has historically been quite hostile to Israel. Look at the period of the (1966-76) Cultural Revolution in China when they were going through their very, very radical period. They identified with the PLO . . . not just the PLO but the most radical Palestinian groups. . . . They also had historically very close connections with Iraqis, Libyans, Syrians. They also voted for the (U.N.) Zionism-as-racism resolution. We could always be sure the government in Beijing would be (supporting) the most radical Arab positions and hostile to us,” he said.

But “just over the last couple of years, it has slowly been changing,” he added. “For us, this is very positive. After all, China is a member of the Security Council, and China is a power in East Asia. So from a diplomatic point of view, this is very important.”

China and Israel took a key step toward diplomatic recognition in 1990, when Israel opened a Beijing office of the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the China International Travel Service opened an office in Tel Aviv. Both offices have functioned as quasi-official diplomatic outposts, providing services such as visas for each other’s citizens.

Despite Israeli concerns about China’s overseas arms sales, Israel since the early 1980s has sought to develop contacts with Beijing by assisting in the modernization of some Chinese weapons. Israel has also shared desert irrigation techniques with Beijing.

China recognizes the State of Palestine, declared by the Palestine Liberation Organization, which has an embassy in Beijing.

Against this background, a breakthrough in Sino-Israeli relations could bring new hope for progress in the peace talks. Yang said Wednesday that China “will play the role of positively pushing forward the peace process.”

Yang said that he, rather than Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, will go to Moscow because Qian will accompany Premier Li Peng on a tour of several European countries starting next week.

For Israel, recognition by China is likely to speed the process of improving ties with other Asian nations, especially India. Israel maintains a consulate in Bombay but has never been allowed to establish an embassy in New Delhi.

Improved ties also offer opportunities for expanded trade and technical cooperation.

Times staff writer Holley reported from Beijing and special correspondent Courtney from Hong Kong.