Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu — who is currently on a five-day visit to China — has called for further cooperation and the establishment of joint R&D teams for Israeli and Chinese research agencies.

National Economic Council Director Prof. Eugene Kandel will head the Israeli team which will focus on providing Israeli water technology to China. The Israeli technologies specialize in – inter alia – desalination, recycling, preventing water loss and treating wastes. An additional field is renewable energy, especially alternatives to oil for transportation.

The teams will also focus on the management of the Israeli public health system.

Following his meeting with Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong, Netanyahu said that he had come with one clear mission – to open the gateway to China for Israeli companies and added that this would help the Israeli economy to grow.

A delegation from Hebrew University of Jerusalem is also in China. Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson, President of HU is leading a group of Israeli academics to visit six top Chinese universities.

Netanyahu will be present at the signing of a cooperation agreement to establish a Confucius Institute at HU. The Center will operate in the spirit of Confucius Institutes established at leading universities around the world, which aim to promote Chinese language and culture to the public, and to promote the deepening of academic research into Chinese history and culture.

There is already a Confucius Institute at Tel Aviv University, which was established in 2007.

“Cooperating with China and developing relationships with the countries of Asia is a priority for the Hebrew University. These connections will bring mutual benefits for all involved,” said Ben-Sasson.