Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong (L) meets with former Israeli President Shimon Peres, at the Peres Center for Peace in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, March 30, 2016. (Xinhua/Gil Cohen Magen)
China and Israel hold enormous potential in further strengthening their pragmatic cooperation in various fields, particularly in innovation, Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong said Wednesday in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv.
When meeting with former Israeli President Shimon Peres in the coastal Israeli city, Liu said she strongly believes that there is a bright prospect for China-Israel pragmatic cooperation.
Liu conveyed Chinese leaders' greetings to Peres and praised him for his significant contributions to the development of the bilateral relations.
During his visit to China in 2014, Peres and Chinese leaders reached vital consensus on enhancing cooperation in the fields of science and technology, education, health, agriculture and water resources, Liu said, adding that thanks to joint efforts by both sides, these consensus have yielded fruitful results.
Liu cited the second meeting of the China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation co-chaired by her and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem Tuesday. The two countries have agreed to officially start talks on free trade agreements, she said.
The next year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Israel, Liu said, hoping that the two sides will seize this opportunity to push bilateral relations to a new height.
Peres spoke highly of the achievements that China has made in social and economic development.
He said he is pleased to see the positive results Israel and China have achieved in bilateral cooperation in science and technology and innovation.
The two countries should further tap the potential and expand the scope of bilateral cooperation for the benefit of the two peoples, he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Liu and Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman attended a seminar on China-Israel cooperation in the field of health in Tel Aviv.
Addressing the seminar, she put forward a three-point proposal to strengthen health cooperation, which calls for deepening cooperation in the areas of stem cell and regenerative medicine, as well as closer people-to-people exchange.
