Politics
Cabinet Approves Establishment of Two Committees to Strengthen Economic Cooperation with China
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The Cabinet, at its weekly meeting today (Sunday, 19 May 2013), approved the establishment of two committees the goal of which is to formulate an action plan for strengthening economic ties between Israel and China, as well as increase bilateral trade, mutual investments and research and development initiatives.
The committees were established in wake of the agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, during the former's recent visit to China, on establishing bodies in both countries to strengthen bilateral economic ties. The committees will work to advance Israeli initiatives and companies in China's cities, as well as outside China in third countries, and will assist in reducing bureaucracy for Israeli companies that are operating in China.
The first committee is a ministerial committee to be chaired by Prime Minister Netanyahu and composed of Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (vice chairman), Finance Minister Yair Lapid, Health Minister Yael German, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Yair Shamir, Transportation and National Infrastructure Minister Yisrael Katz, Minister of Strategic and Intelligence Affairs Yuval Steinitz and Water and Energy Minister Silvan Shalom.
The second committee is an inter-ministerial committee to be chaired by National Economic Council Chairman Prof. Eugene Kandel and composed of the directors general of the relevant government ministries and other professional elements.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said: "I attribute significance to the fact that Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said that China's top planning agency, which is of great importance, will be part of the Chinese committee. This might allow us to create a growth engine here. We are looking for ways to increase the pace of GNP growth and opening the Chinese market is certainly one of the things with the potential to do this. We are ready and will make all the preparations immediately. Naturally, I hope that we will see a similar response on the Chinese side. This has important significance in ensuring growth which, in the end, alongside greater efficiency, is the most important factor that will allow us to meet our national goals."
