Israel expects to set up new cooperation platforms with China in Shanghai, China's economic hub, and Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, said visiting Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Shanghai Thursday.

Olmert, who is also Israel's industry and trade minister, said this in his meeting with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng in Shanghai Thursday morning.

Olmert said that for many Jews, including himself, Shanghai and Harbin are two cities for which they have strong appreciation and affection.

As early as the beginning of the last century, Olmert's forefathers immigrated from Russia to Harbin. His grandfather is still buried in a burial ground for Jews in Harbin. Shanghai is regarded as a shelter by many Jews because it accepted nearly 30,000 European Jews during World War II.

He said his parents have been to these two cities many times, and they were the most familiar cities for him in his childhood.

Olmert noted Shanghai is a vigorous and exciting modern city, which leaves a memorable impression on him and the 200-odd other people in the huge economic and trade delegation he led to China.

Israel is now considering how to conduct a series of productive cooperation projects with China to achieve common development, he said.

He said the two countries have broad prospects for cooperation in various fields, including electronic communication, biological medicine, agriculture, and the utilization of wind.

Olmert stressed the importance of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo for Israel, noting that the two sides could carry out in-depth cooperation in the fields of personnel safety, facilities and network security.

Chairman of the Board of Israel Venture Association Chemi Peres said China has become an important driving force for the increase of the world economy in the contemporary world, adding that China's development brings new hope to the world.

Peres also noted that Israel and China are strongly compatible in economic development.

During their one-day stay in Shanghai, Olmert and his delegation visited the hi-tech park of the Pudong New District of Shanghai, some integrated circuit manufacturing enterprises, and the Ohel Moishe, which is an exhibition hall for the special history of Jews during World War II.

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2004)