Israel's imports from China surge to new annual record

JERUSALEM, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israel's imports of goods from China, excluding diamonds, amounted to 11.8 billion U.S. dollars between January and November, according to data issued by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.

The figure marks a year-on-year increase of 21.6 percent compared to the 9.7 billion dollars in the same period last year.

The Jan.-Nov. number surpasses the yearly record for Israeli imports from China of 10.7 billion dollars, which was set in 2021 and broken already in October 2022.

The data also showed that China remained Israel's largest source of imports, ahead of the United States, from which Israel imported 8.1 billion dollars worth of goods between January and November.

The main imports from China by Israel are machinery, metals, textiles, chemical industries, vehicles, and aircraft sectors, according to the bureau.

Israeli exports to China, excluding diamonds, rose by 7.7 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months, totaling 4.2 billion dollars.

Total Israeli imports in Jan.-Nov., excluding diamonds, rose by 19.2 percent year-on-year to reach 92.9 billion dollars, while Israeli exports totaled 56.3 billion dollars, up by 21.7 percent.