TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The quality of made-in-China products has been significantly improved in the past few years, Chairman of Israel-China and Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce Amos Yudan told Xinhua in an interview on Monday.

The good quality and the reasonable price of Chinese goods will help boost imports to Israel in the future, he said.

LONG LIST OF CHINESE PRODUCTS

In the chain stores of Homecenter, the largest Israeli retail network, shoppers will notice that commodities that bear the "Made-in-China" label can be found in almost all the categories there.

"Made-in-China have been sweeping elsewhere in Israelis’ daily life," said Yudan, who was among the first Israelis to do business with China since the 1980s.

Israel’s imports from China have been growing rapidly in the past several years due to the improved quality of Chinese products, and the categories of goods have shifted from cheap merchandise to more high-end products, he said.

"The long list of imports from China not only includes textiles and toys, but also durable goods such as mobile phones, television sets, laptop parts and medical equipment," he added.

Two-way trade had begun long before the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992. Bilateral trade reached 3.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2006, with imports from China amounting to 2.43 billion dollars.

"It results from the constant growth in trade throughout the years," Yudan explained.

Of the total imports from China in 2006, 28.2 percent were high-tech equipment, machinery and electrical equipment, surpassing those of textiles, which stood at 24.2 percent, according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.

COMPETITIVE PRICES

The overwhelming imports of Made-in-China goods shows that their prices are more competitive compared with products from other countries.

"The Israeli market is very sensitive to pricing. Local companies are encouraged to look into China’s market because of the attractive prices in every field of goods," Yudan said.

In 2004, Israel’s minister of industry and trade visited China at the head of an official business delegation which included representatives from about 100 Israeli companies. The purpose of the trip was to promote trade and cooperation in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Currently, around 800 Israeli companies are doing business with China as the two economies are complementary in many areas.

Yudan was optimistic about the quantity of imports of Chinese goods in the future.

"The potential market for Made-in-China is still big in Israel. Since the quality is improving and the price is competitive, I have no doubt that in the next few years there will be another round of growth in the total import volume from China to Israel."