Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been in China for three days, met on Tuesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who told the Israeli leader that peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians would be good for both sides and that a peaceful and stable Middle East was in everyone's interests. "A peaceful, stable, developing Middle East accords with the common interests of all, including China and Israel," said a statement from China's Foreign Ministry about Xi's meeting with Netanyahu. "China appreciates Israel's continuing to take the 'two state proposal' as the basis for handling the Israeli-Palestinian issue," the statement said. Netanyahu told Xi that Israel admires China's capabilities, its position on the world stage and in history. "We have always believed, as we discussed on my previous visit, that Israel can be a partner, a junior partner, but a perfect partner for China in the development of a variety of technologies that can change the way we live, how long we live, how healthy we live, the water we drink, the food we eat, the milk that we drink -- in every area," he said. "We want to marry our technology with China's capacities." The prime minister also attended the third meeting of the China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation with Vice Premier Liu Yandong, at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Netanyahu and Liu discussed the importance of close cooperation between the countries for the sake of technological innovation and advancement. The committee meeting was also attended by Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis, Health Minister Yakov Litzman, Environmental Protection Minister Zeev Elkin and Economy and Industry Minister Eli Cohen, as well as Prime Minister's Office Director General Eli Groner, Justice Ministry Director General Emi Palmor, and Innovation Authority Chairman Avi Hasson. The ministers and director generals signed several agreements, one of them for cooperation in the field of emergency medicine. The prime minister told Liu that the framework of the joint committee is vital for bilateral relations and noted that it joins two additional frameworks -- cooperation with China's National Development and Reform Commission and the negotiations between the sides on a free-trade agreement --which together constitute the heart of bilateral relations: cooperation in science, initiatives and innovation. China's NDRC, formerly the State Planning Commission, has primary administrative and planning control over the Chinese economy. Li said the joint innovation committee, which includes a considerable number of government ministries from both countries, has proven itself and has led to practical results. Also on Tuesday, Netanyahu laid a wreath at the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It was the first time since diplomatic relations between Israel and China were restored 25 years ago that an Israeli prime minister was asked to lay a wreath at the site. Additionally, after seven years of negotiations, the countries signed a deal for the export of Israeli dairy products to China. Netanyahu's trip comes just days after China hosted Saudi Arabia's King Salman and signed deals worth as much as $65 billion with Riyadh. China also has close ties with Iran, whose nuclear program has seriously alarmed Israel.
