(Communicated by the Ministry of Economy & Industry Spokesperson)

Following successful Israel investment conferences in Sydney and London aimed at exposing local business communities to the varied investment opportunities in Israel, the largest ever Israel investment conference in China opened on Monday (January 4, 2016) with some 1,000 participants. The two-day conference is taking place in Beijing and is an initiative of the Division for Foreign Investments and Industrial Cooperation at the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry, as well as the ministry's trade missions in China. It is also supported by the Chinese government through the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

Among the participants are a number of investors from Chinese companies and venture capital funds, key figures from Israeli hi-tech and academia and representatives of 85 Israeli technology companies from the fields of life sciences, cleantech and advanced production, who will present their products and capabilities with the goal of promoting new areas of cooperation with the Chinese market.

The conference was opened by Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Water and Energy, Dr. Yuval Steinitz. It includes panels on investment opportunities for Chinese companies in Israel and on the contribution of Israeli academia to the development of technology firms. In addition, B2B meeting will be held between Israeli companies and Chinese investors, and there will be presentations from key figures from the Chinese business world, including Guo Guangchang, Chairman of Fosun International Ltd.; Cheetah Mobile CEO Fu Sheng; founder and CEO of Neusoft Liu Jiren, and from Israel - Shimon Eckhouse, founder of Syneron and John Medved, founder of OurCrowd, among others.

Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Water and Energy, Dr. Yuval Steinitz, said: "Since my first visit to China as finance minister in 2010, I have continued to work to strengthen economic ties between Israel and China. This activity has so far resulted in several important economic agreements and has brought a dramatic increase in Chinese investments in Israel, so it is important to continue that work in the fields of economy, industry and energy. It is hard to overstate the importance of economic and technological ties between Israel and China, ties which also help tighten diplomatic relations between the two countries. This conference creates an excellent opportunity to create new economic ties and to showcase the State of Israel to Chinese companies, investors and entrepreneurs who may consider investing in our country in the fields of water, electricity infrastructure, gas and others."

Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry Amit Lang said: "Economic relations between Israel and China are constantly strengthening. The Beijing conference is a natural extension of increasing economic activity between the two countries and will give investors a chance to get to know and connect with promising Israeli companies from different fields."

Director of the Division for Foreign Investments and Industrial Cooperation Ziva Eger, said: "The conference will showcase Israeli companies to the Chinese market, with an emphasis on life sciences, cleantech, agritech, Internet, mobile and advanced production technologies. We are certain that investors will be impressed with the scope of the innovation and enterprise of the Israeli companies participating and we hope many partnerships will be created that will give the Israeli economy an additional boost."

Head of the Trade & Investments Mission in Beijing for the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry Ophir Gore said: "The conference is a response to the increasing interest in Israeli innovation shown by funds, companies, investment bodies and private individuals in China and I foresee that the stream of Chinese investments in the Israeli economy will grow stronger in the coming years. Events like this are necessary in order to continue this trend."

The Foreign Trade Administration at the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry has been working actively in the Chinese market over the past few years, with diversified activity encouraging trade and opening Chinese projects to Israel companies. It acts through four trade missions in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong -- a number equal to the number of trade missions in the US. The Foreign Trade Administration regularly surveys Chinese legislation and regulation in order to remove obstacles for Israeli exporters seeking to penetrate this important market. The trade missions also sponsor dozens of activities every year aimed at creating business opportunities for Israeli companies in China in several fields, from water and agriculture to new media and consumer products. In addition, through the India-China-Japan fund, the Foreign Trade Administration supports companies that have made China a strategic marketing target. The administration also subsidizes the opening of Israeli companies' marketing offices in China. It should be noted that this is a competitive endeavor with basic criteria that need to be met.