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Last update - 03:20 27/08/2008 China passes Germany to become No. 2 exporter to Israel By Ora Coren Tags: Israel, Germnay, China, U.S. Some say that China is becoming the second economic superpower after the United States, and certainly as far as Israel is concerned, it's coming true. In 2007, Chinese exports to Israel passed Germany's for the first time. Imports from China grew to $4.6 billion in 2007, up from $3.2 billion the year before, according to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics. Germany had ranked second in 2006 with exports to Israel of $3.2 billion. Its exports rose to $3.3 billion last year. Advertisement The U.S., remained the sole real superpower in exports to Israel: $8.1 billion in 2007, compared with $6.2 billion the year before. However, for years China has been gradually closing the gap with America in terms of exports to Israel, at least. Meanwhile, Israeli exports to China aren't growing much. The pattern of exports to Israel complies with Beijing's policy of driving growth through exports. Shauli Katznelson, deputy director general at the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute, believes that China is fated to supplant the U.S. as the main exporter to Israel. "It won't happen in two or three years," says Katznelson. "China's rise will take a long time. But the direction is clear," he adds. Chinese manufacturing had been characterized by low-cost products of dubious quality, Katznelson says. Their safety had also been questioned. But in recent years Chinese manufacturers have been improving quality and are also making products of increasing sophistication. The result is that their products cost more. In 2007, Israel imported a total of $56.6 billion worth of goods, out of which $24.2 billion originated from Europe. Among the countries from which Israel imported more than a billion dollars' worth of goods last year were Belgium, Japan, Russia, Turkey, India, Switzerland, France, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and South Korea. From 2000 to 2007, Israel sharply increased imports from a host of countries such as Poland, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt and Colombia. But the sharpest increase was in imports from China, which grew from $0.9 billion in 2000 to $4.6 billion last year Bookmark to del.icio.us   Defending against Iran U.S. deploys early-warning radar system at Israeli base to detect Iranian missiles. Chinese train in Israel Haifa stadium had been turned into mock Bird's Nest in pre-Olympics exercises.   1.   So? 06:26  |  Mark Lincoln 27/08/08   2.   #1 - I`m not sure how much the US and the West have to export 08:18  |  redmike 27/08/08   3.   Congratulations to Mark Lincoln 10:41  |  Israeli 27/08/08   4.   Mark Lincoln..........SO 04:20  |  Carlos Murphy 29/09/08

Read & React Burston: Will Palin win Jews - and Florida - over to Obama? Responses: 122 U.S. deploys radar system at Israel base to detect Iran missiles Responses: 81 Gideon Levy: Enough with the 'political process' game Responses: 116 Olmert said to offer Palestinians Jordan Valley land swap Responses: 48 Editorial: Capitalism isn't dead, but U.S. is on the path to decline Responses: 112 More Headlines 03:09 Leftist prof Sternhell: Supporting occupation is anti-Zionist 00:55 U.S. deploys radar system at Israel base to detect Iran missiles 02:50 Jerusalem is already divided, says former Shas leader Deri 02:25 Fatah politicos consider uniting with Hamas, launching third intifada 03:43 Labor said threatening elections if Kadima won't meet demands 00:19 Jewish studies program funded by Lev Leviev nixed from curriculum 22:33 Haaretz.com: The year in review 00:50 IDF soldier suspected of selling entry permits to Tel Aviv base 23:17 Israelis, Iranians join world in mourning 'king of cool' Paul Newman 20:20 Olmert: 'Jewish underground' behind attack on leftist prof. 20:52 One-third of Austrians vote for extreme right in parliamentary elections 21:48 Helen Mirren to play Mossad spy in Hollywood remake of Israeli film 02:16 Tel Aviv residents line up for cheap flour and rice ahead of holidays 23:31 IDF to impose closure on West Bank and Gaza over Rosh Hashanah 22:56 Ramle woman and her infant son critically injured in hit-and-run Previous Editions Select Day 28 sep 26 sep 25 sep 24 sep 23 sep 22 sep 21 sep 19 sep 18 sep 17 sep 16 sep 15 sep

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