BICOM

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan began a four day visit to Israel yesterday as the two countries seek to boost bilateral trade and business.

“This the most important visit by a Chinese leader in the last 18 years. It’s a sign of our growing friendship,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The fact that the Vice President of China came to Israel at my invitation for the Prime Minister’s Innovation Conference is a tremendous compliment to Israel and a reflection of the growing ties between China and Israel.”

Wang visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s old city and last night Prime Minister Netanyahu hosted a working dinner. The Chinese delegation at the dinner included Science and Technology Minister Wang Zhigang, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Yucheng and Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming. Jack Ma, co-founder and chairman of Alibaba, is part of the Chinese delegation.

Vice President Wang will travel to Ramallah today and hold talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. Later this week, Wang will co-host the 4th meeting of the China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation together with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Beijing and Jerusalem are both seeking to advance business and trade agreements during this week’s trip. Eight joint agreements in science and technology, life sciences, innovation, digital health and agriculture are due to be signed at the conference.

Israel is one of China’s major trading partners in the Middle East. Bright Food bought Israeli food giant Tnuva in 2014 and Shanghai International Port Group will operate a new port in Haifa Bay, due to open in 2021, which has caused concern among former Israeli intelligence officials as Haifa’s port houses Israel’s submarine fleet.

China is Israel’s largest trading partner in Asia and its third largest trading partner in the world. Israeli exports to China increased by 62 per cent in the first eight months of 2018 compared to last year — from $2.14bn in 2017 to $3.bn — according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics. Imports from China increased by 10 per cent from $4.45bn last year to $4.9bn in 2018.