(Photo/Wu Sheng)
The 2022 China-Israel Innovation Cooperation Week, co-organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China, the Ministry of Economy and Industry of Israel, the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government and the Embassy of Israel in China, opened in Changzhou City on September 5 as this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Wu Zhenglong, secretary of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, announced the start of the opening ceremony.
In his video speech, Wang Zhigang, minister of the MOST, said President Xi Jinping in January exchanged congratulatory messages with Israeli President Isaac Herzog to celebrate the 30th anniversary and noted that the two peoples have deepened their friendship and the bilateral relations have achieved remarkable progress during these years.
At a new starting point, it’s important to follow the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and put into practice the agreement of China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation (JCIC), according to Wang.
He also said efforts will be made to support Jiangsu Province and Changzhou City to further leverage their advantages in science and technology and industrial innovation, make the China-Israel Changzhou Innovation Park (CICP) a successful flagship project in China’s opening up and innovation-driven growth, and also contribute to enhancing the level of innovation cooperation between the two countries.
Hu Guangjie, vice governor of Jiangsu, said that Jiangsu was one of the first provinces in China to cooperate with Israel and will continue to promote exchanges and cooperation, bringing more tangible benefits to the people of the two countries.
Focusing on development of the CICP, the province will build a hub of innovation cooperation with Isreal, advance the level of opening-up, create a first-class business environment, and provide better services for Israeli talents and investment in the province, according to Hu.
Ona Babewi, minister of the Ministry of Economy and Industry of Israel, and Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, also made video speeches. They pledged to fully support the innovation cooperation between the two countries, encourage more Israeli enterprises to seek development in China and the province, and promote new achievements in various fields.
In their speeches, Israeli Ambassador to China Irit Ben-Abba and Chinese Ambassador to Israel Cai Run also mentioned that innovation is the highlight and booster of the bilateral ties. They hoped both sides can deepen pragmatic cooperation and expected Jiangsu to play a greater role in the innovation cooperation between the two countries.
Wu, Ben-Abba and Zhang Guangjun, vice minister of the MOST also inaugurated the CICP Innovation Village.
The CICP is the first such park jointly built by the governments of two countries. A series of exchange activities in the fields of science and technology, industry, investment, intellectual property, education, culture, health and finance will be held in the cooperation week. The 6th Innovation and Entrepreneurship Contest and the China-Israel Innovation Park Cooperation Alliance were also launched in the opening ceremony.
