JERUSALEM, June 14 (Xinhua) -- This year's "Chinese Bridge" Language Proficiency Competition for Israeli university students recently concluded in Tel Aviv.

The contest featured themed speeches and talent performances, with four university students and nine beginners taking part. Tomer Ben Shimol from the University of Haifa took first place after a tight race.

Shimol said learning Chinese enables him to foster cultural exchange and deepen mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Chinese Ambassador to Israel Xiao Junzheng said in his remarks that equal exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations can provide valuable inspiration to address today's global challenges and achieving common development.

"The Chinese Bridge competition is not merely a language contest," Xiao said. "It is a bridge of communication, mutual understanding, trust, and cultural exchange."

"Just as the name 'Chinese Bridge' suggests, Chinese is a bridge. Every word learned, every Chinese character written, and every idiom or poem understood adds a new connection to that bridge," said Asaf Goldschmidt, the Israeli director of the Confucius Institute at Tel Aviv University. ■