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Israeli PM kicks off China visit with Iran, trade on agenda
2007-01-09
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has kicked off a three-day visit to Beijing, where he will hold talks with China's leaders focusing mainly on Iran's nuclear programme and bilateral trade. The visit, marking 15 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries, is Olmert's last leg in a recent tour of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to discuss Iran's nuclear bid, which Israel claims is aimed at acquiring an atomic bomb despite Tehran's repeated denials. "Olmert is arriving in China for a round of very important talks during which he will press through the Iranian issue," a senior Israeli official told reporters on board the premier's plane. Unlike his talks in Britain, France, Russia and the United States, Olmert expects to encounter little enthusiasm in Beijing for Israel's call to slap heavy sanctions on Iran, one of China's major suppliers of oil and gas needed to feed its fast-growing economy. The Jewish state, the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, considers the Islamic republic its arch foe following repeated calls by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for Israel to be wiped off the map. "But we must prepare for the next round of sanctions against Iran in the coming months," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Even though it did not oppose a Security Council resolution on December 23 slapping light sanctions on Iran, "China, too, has no interest in seeing a nuclear Iran," he said. "It is still very important to go to Beijing and spell out Israel's concerns over a nuclear Iran," the official said. Olmert is expected to discuss the Palestinian question, Syria and Lebanon, as well as the Iran issue, during his talks with President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, but trade will also be a top priority. Trade between the two nations was worth three billion dollars last year, up 20 percent from 2004, according to figures provided by the Israeli embassy in Beijing. Chinese exports to Israel accounted for 2.25 billion dollars in trade last year, while high-tech products made up 46 percent of the Israeli flow of goods to China. Bilateral trade is expected to jump another 20 percent this year, according to the Israeli embassy. Israel has in the past also supplied arms technology to China. However, following two deals that drew US opposition, Israel agreed to allow Washington to oversee the trade in this area. Olmert was expected to hold talks on Tuesday afternoon with Trade Minister Bo Xilai, while his meetings with China's top leaders will come later in his visit. The first stop for Olmert on Tuesday was a massive milking farm built with advanced Israeli technology situated on the outskirts of Beijing, which "symbolises the type of cooperation the two countries want," an official said. The premier was then due to visit the site of the Olympic Village being built for Beijing's hosting of the Games in 2008. "Israel has a lot to offer to China for the Olympic Games in terms of advanced security technology and knowledge," the official said. During the visit, Olmert's first as premier but his second in fewer than three years, the 61-year-old leader will also tour the Forbidden City and visit the Great Wall. On a personal note, Olmert, whose parents found sanctuary from Russian persecution in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin in the early 1900s, has branded the visit as a return to his roots. "I have a spiritual link with China," he told Israel's mass-selling Yediot Aharonot daily. "For me, China is not just another country -- it is an important part of my family history."
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