Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel and China will complete a free trade deal next year, as the country’s Vice-President visited Israel this week.
Prime Minister Netanyahu also said that China plans to invest heavily in Israeli infrastructure, including new ports and a light rail network.
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan co-chaired the fourth meeting of the Israel-China Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation (JCIC) this week. Israeli-Chinese coooperation on trade was formalised in 2015 with the first meeting of the JCIC.
Qishan praised Israel as an innovation hub that China hopes to learn from as it modernises its expanding economy.
Highlights of the latest JCIC included proposals for an Israeli-Chinese Visa Program, increasing direct flights particularly to cities where there are currently none (there are already 50 direct flights per week), a bilateral tourism agreement and deepening cooperation in science, entrepreneurship, cultural exchanges and scholarly research.
The Committee concluded the summit by signing eight joint agreements in the fields of science and technology, life sciences, innovation, digital health and agriculture.
In 2017, bilateral trade between Israel and China stood at $10 billion, marking a 30% annual increase.
