The MOU was signed by Han Changfu, vice-minister of agriculture, Itzhak Shelef, ambassador of Israel to China, and Xiong Huiyin, vice-chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China.

Following experiments in Changji City in Xinjiang, the project is aimed at building a model for China's agriculture development in drylands and the development of industrial crops.

A training course for Chinese agricultural technicians is also part of the project.

Han said the signing ceremony marked another step in the Sino-Israeli cooperative project, which will have a big impact on the development of agriculture in China's western region.

Shelef said western China has a great potential for development and Israel is ready to introduce its agricultural technology to China.

The project is the first inter-governmental cooperation in agriculture in China's west since the country began its Western Development Plan in 2000.

However, it is the third project in agricultural cooperation between the two governments. The other two projects were a demonstration farm and a dairy demonstration farm in Beijing.

(People's Daily August 13, 2002)