Israel-China relations further solidified at Haifa Bayport anniversary
An illumination ceremony was held on Thursday evening to celebrate the first anniversary of the inauguration of the Haifa Bayport, developed and operated by the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG). It also marks the 30th anniversary of Israel-China diplomatic relations.
"The operation of the new port is definitely a historic moment for Israel, carrying great promise for the entire Israeli economy and serving the public interest," Edward Shapira, consul general of Israel in Shanghai, said at the opening remarks of the illumination ceremony.
"It will lead to greater competition in the port industry, improvement and streamlining of services, positioning Israeli ports on the top advanced rank in the Eastern Mediterranean basin."
The automated container port is the largest and busiest in Israel. In 2015, the Israel Port authority granted SIPG a 25-year concession to run the port.
Construction started in 2018, divided into two phases. Phase one was designed to handle an annual volume of 1.06 TEU, and is complete. Phase two, still under construction, will have an annual container handling capacity of 800,000 TEU.
The diplomat also cited the fruitful achievements China and Israel have achieved over the past 30 years, including "trade and economic ties that rapidly flourished from 250 million to more than 24 billion dollars in volume." That makes China Israel's second most important trading partner.
The two countries also announced the establishment of an innovative comprehensive partnership in 2017, which opened a new chapter in the friendly cooperation.
Zhang Xiaosong, director general of Shanghai 's Foreign Affairs Office, considers the innovative comprehensive partnership to have brought concrete benefits to the people of both countries.
"The project showcases how our two economies are highly complementary, and how Shanghai and Haifa found a win-win partnership," he said.
"Shanghai and Haifa signed the twin cities treaty in 1993, and have since collaborated in various fields including urban management, trade, sports, and education. We look forward to more and better collaborations with Israel in the future to further benefit people from both countries."
Yan Jun, president of SIPG sees the success of the new port a result of diligent work of people from both countries.
"We are determined to turn the new port into the most advanced smart and green hub in the Mediterranean, making greater contributions to the economic and social development of Israel and the trade and economic ties between the two countries," he concluded.
