Israel and China convene joint innovation committee for the first time since 2018

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Israel and China convene joint innovation committee for the first time since 2018

The China-Israel Joint Committee for Innovation Cooperation meets virtually, led by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan.

During the meeting, the countries sign a three-year plan to regulate cooperation and dialogue between governments until 2024.

The Joint Committee was established in 2014 as a comprehensive bilateral dialogue framework for senior government officials. The meeting is the fifth call of the committee and the first since 2018.

The meeting is part of a series of events marking 30 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and China.

“The Chinese, like the Israelis, are not afraid of new ideas,” Lapid said at the beginning of the meeting. “There is an intrinsic curiosity in the character of our two peoples. Give us a new and exciting idea and we will gather around it, discuss it enthusiastically and immediately examine its origin and how it can be improved. “

The meeting was attended by representatives of several ministries and offices of the Israeli government, including the Minister of Science, Technology and Space Orit Farkash-Hacohen and senior officials from the ministries of health, environmental protection, culture, agriculture and economy, as well as the Innovation Authority and Patent Office.

United States President Joe Biden, left, virtually meets Chinese President Xi Jinping, on screen, from the Roosevelt room of the White House in Washington on Monday, November 15, 2021. (Photo AP / Susan Walsh, File)

“Israel and China are marking three decades of diplomatic relations characterized by continuous political dialogue, close economic and trade relations and various collaborations that bind the two peoples,” read a statement from the Foreign Ministry spokesman’s office on Monday. “The volume of trade with China has increased significantly in 30 years of diplomatic relations and now stands at around $ 18 billion. China is one of Israel’s most important trading partners and the free trade agreement is expected to help increase the volume of trade. “

Israel’s initiatives to strengthen ties with Beijing come as the United States, Israel’s closest ally, increasingly sees China as its main military and economic rival. This reality has forced Jerusalem to seek a balance between its deep commitment to its alliance with the United States and China’s growing importance as a global economic and military power.

In the midst of a US-China trade war that has ebbed and flowed under the Trump and Biden administrations in recent years, China has shown an interest in Israeli innovations, particularly in medical technology, robotics, food technology, and intelligence. artificial.

Washington’s main concerns lie in potential dual-use technologies, where various technologies would have both civilian and military applications. At the same time, Israel has regulations in place to prevent the sale of sensitive military technology to China (and other countries), following a 1990s agreement in which Israel had to phase out the sale of advanced flight radar systems to China. China among the fierce US opposition.

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