by Xinhua writers Chen Wenxian, Du Zhen

JERUSALEM, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The win-win cooperation between China and Israel will be more productive in the hi-tech industry, chief scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

"China is the second largest economy in the world and it is very important to Israel," said Amiram Appelbaum, who also works as chairman of Israel Innovation Authority, during the annual DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival held on Sept. 5-6.

The well-known festival gathered thousands of delegates from world's leading companies to promote and exchange hi-tech expertise in sectors including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, clean energy, autonomous and shared transportation, and mobility trends.

China has a large number of talents, including highly-educated engineers, students and professors who are very strong in academy, said Appelbaum, adding that China also presents a huge market.

According to the chief scientist, who has travelled a lot to China in order to push forward the bilateral hi-tech cooperation, there is a "very good match" between the two countries.

"Israel knows well how to start product and business from zero to one, while China is good at making it from one to one hundred," added Appelbaum.

Since the establishment of the innovative comprehensive partnership in March 2017, the China-Israel ties in the hi-tech field have improved increasingly.

Bilateral cooperation has been carried out in wide areas such as information technology, life sciences and healthcare, cyber security, energy and advanced manufacturing.

So far, more than 6,000 startups are active in the hi-tech industry in Israel and more than 350 research and development centers established by multinational companies are under operation in Israel.

Leading Chinese tech companies, such as Huawei, Legend and Xiaomi, are also operating their research and development centers in Israel.

Chinese companies investing in Israel are not only in information and communication technology, but also in bio-technology, medical equipment and precision farming, he said. "The opportunity is much larger and I hope it will grow more."

He was excited to see now there are collaborations in the academia between China and Israel. "We should work together in every aspect including technology, high education, research and manufacturing."

Appelbaum expressed his confidence for a better and wider collaboration to be achieved in the future.

The chief scientist also expressed hopes that both sides should look for a "very productive" economy which will be based on basic research collaboration, applied research collaboration, technology transfer, and manufacturing.

He said that there is a big culture gap in bilateral cooperation and cultural differences should always be considered, adding that he is glad to act as a "bridge" of helping each other with better understanding.