(Ha'aretz) Gilad Cohen - The upgrading of the China-Israel innovation partnership means that the huge Chinese economy, the second largest in the world, and Chinese government ministries, are getting a loud and clear message from the leadership in Beijing: Go and do business and invest in the advanced and innovative Israeli economy. Recently there have been increasing warnings against allowing China to participate in projects and investments in Israel as a threat to our interests and a danger to our economic independence. These statements are damaging to relations between the countries. There is no question that every country has to safeguard its security and strategic infrastructure. But the Israeli economy is strong enough, and it is our clear interest to invite many countries to invest here and to purchase high-tech products manufactured by Israeli firms and startups. Israel must therefore find the right balance: We must convey to the world and to the East in particular that we are a country with confidence in its capabilities, unafraid of exposure to new markets, while we safeguard our security and strategic interests. The writer is the deputy director general for Asia and the Pacific in the Israel Foreign Ministry.
2018-10-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive