Hong Kong–Israel Relations

Hong Kong occupies a distinctive place in Israel's engagement with East Asia, having evolved from a diplomatic back-channel into a mature commercial relationship centered on technology, trade, and governmental cooperation. Although Hong Kong is part of China, international economic organizations and Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics record it as a separate trade unit. Its lower customs rates and comparatively simpler regulatory conditions have offered advantages distinct from those encountered in mainland China.[5][4]

Israel maintains a Consulate General accredited to both Hong Kong and Macau, and its Economic and Commercial Mission operates under the Foreign Trade Administration of Israel's Ministry of Economy and Industry.[2][6] Cooperation has covered air services, information technology and communications, mutual legal assistance, securities regulation, customs, culture, industrial research and development, fintech, and authorized-economic-operator recognition.[2] High-level visits have included Hong Kong chief executives Tung Chee-hwa and C. Y. Leung, financial secretaries Donald Tsang and Paul Chan, Israeli presidents Ezer Weizman and Moshe Katsav, and former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres.[2]

Sources differ on the beginning of Victor Zirinsky's tenure as Israel's honorary consul in Hong Kong. Tjong-Alvares dates his service from 1961 to 1985 and describes him as a member of the Jewish community who had relocated from Shanghai, while the Israeli consulate's current timeline gives 1958 as the year the British Government appointed him.[7][2] Israel opened a formal consulate in Hong Kong in 1973 under Emanuel Gal Bar, but it closed in 1975 amid financial difficulties and Israeli budget cuts. The offices nevertheless continued operating under a local Jewish businessman serving as honorary consul, preserving a minimal Israeli presence in the territory.[3][7]

The strategic calculus shifted during the 1984 Sino-British negotiations over Hong Kong's future. Tjong-Alvares writes that Israeli officials identified a provision in the joint declaration allowing representatives of countries without formal relations with the People's Republic of China to remain in Hong Kong after the 1997 transfer. According to his account, Hanan Bar-On and David Kimchi persuaded Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir to reopen the consulate in late 1984.[7] The World Jewish Congress and Israel's current consular timeline date formal relations or diplomatic presence to 1985, while the official timeline separately dates the opening of the Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau to 1986.[1][2]

The Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau describes bilateral activity as encompassing commerce, technology, academia, tourism, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. Its Economic and Commercial Mission promotes trade and investment, connects Israeli companies with local partners, identifies business opportunities, supports international development, and encourages foreign investment.[2][6]

The official timeline records an air-services agreement in 1998; an information-technology and communications agreement in 2000; mutual legal assistance in criminal matters in 2005; a securities and derivatives memorandum in 2006; customs and cultural-cooperation memoranda in 2010; an industrial R&D memorandum in 2014; an amendment to the air-services agreement in 2017; authorized-economic-operator mutual recognition in 2019; and a fintech memorandum in 2020.[2] In June 2019, the customs arrangement gave approved operators benefits including a lower likelihood of inspection. It was Israel's seventh such bilateral instrument, and Israel's program, launched in 2010, then covered approximately 230 entities.[8]

The Israeli Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong was relaunched at an event on March 5, 2025, attended by business leaders, entrepreneurs, and community members. It was presented as a hub for companies seeking to operate in both markets.[9]

Cultural and educational exchanges have included Hong Kong appearances by Chava Alberstein, Mayumana, the Batsheva Dance Company, and the Israeli Opera. The Hebrew University also mounted an exhibition about Albert Einstein at the Hong Kong Science Museum.[2]

After the consulate reopened, Israeli diplomat Reuven Merhav was assigned to explore how Hong Kong could advance relations with the People's Republic of China. An INSS study describes the consulate under Merhav as Israel's principal China-watching outpost, a meeting point with official and unofficial PRC representatives, and a logistical base for Israeli businesspeople, academics, and tourists travelling to the mainland.[3] Tjong-Alvares recounts that after a five-week reconnaissance trip in May–June 1985, Merhav concluded that Hong Kong could serve as a springboard for Israel–China relations, but that progress required a patient and gradual approach. He subsequently established a framework for Israeli students to study at institutions in Hong Kong.[7]

Academic contacts provided a mechanism for advancing ties while formal diplomatic relations remained blocked. Tjong-Alvares reports that in December 1985 China's foreign minister said formal relations would not be established while Israel pursued policies he characterized as aggressive and expansionist, but distinguished between Israeli authorities and the Israeli people and said academics and experts could attend conferences in China as individuals through international organizations. The account says Israeli scientists subsequently provided Hong Kong-based diplomats with firsthand information about China and acted as informal representatives of Israeli interests.[7]

The same account describes Merhav's contact with Li Zhou Wen, a Xinhua vice president responsible for communication with countries lacking official relations with China. After obtaining Beijing's permission, Li met Merhav in June 1987 in what the article calls the first formal contact between China and Israel. Parallel talks involved Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Avraham Tamir and Chinese UN ambassador Li Luyue.[7]

The Hong Kong channel extended into tourism and economics. Tjong-Alvares says Merhav negotiated an arrangement with the Chinese tourism agency CITS in 1988 that allowed Israeli groups to visit China using Israeli passports, which had previously been nearly impossible. The account also describes COPECO as a joint governmental company established in 1986 at the initiative of Merhav and Professor S. Pohoryles, with Chinese firm Hua Tai as its counterpart. Although officially focused on agriculture and science, it served as a base for diplomatic work and was eventually integrated into Israel's academic mission and embassy.[7] A separate INSS account dates the decision to establish COPECO to 1987 and identifies Amos Yudan as the official selected to create the Hong Kong-based commercial company, calling it instrumental in the later development of commercial relations.[3]

An Israeli office devoted to academic relations opened in Beijing in February 1990 and became the nucleus of Israel's future diplomatic representation there.[7] Israel and China established full diplomatic relations in January 1992.[10] Once that milestone was reached, Hong Kong's role as a political intermediary diminished and the consulate assumed more conventional functions.[3]

Hong Kong was Israel's second-largest trade partner in Asia after Japan for many years, serving as a direct and indirect export market, a source of imports, and a major re-export hub, particularly for goods ultimately destined for mainland China.[3] Official Israel–China statistics during this period excluded Hong Kong business even when goods were redirected to the mainland, meaning Hong Kong's significance was not fully reflected in bilateral figures.[3]

In 2001, Hong Kong was listed among Israel's major trading partners alongside the United States, the European Union, India, Japan, and South Korea.[11] A May 2006 background page listed Hong Kong among Israel's major export partners and placed Israel's total 2005 exports at an estimated $40.14 billion.[12] In 2011 estimates published in 2013, Hong Kong accounted for 7.9% of Israeli exports, ahead of China's 4% and second only to the United States at 28.8%.[13] Hong Kong accounted for 7% of Israel's exports in a separate table for 2017.[14]

An INSS analysis says dozens of Israeli companies selected Hong Kong as their Asian headquarters.[5] Israeli businesses reported as having a presence there included diamond and precious-stone exporters, ZIM, Israel Aerospace Industries, Comverse, Orbotech, and ECI. Hong Kong telecommunications company PCCW expressed interest in Israel's Bezeq privatization tender, while Hutchison held a substantial stake in Israeli mobile operator Partner.[15] In 1999, Hong Kong authorities identified Israel as a preferred high-tech cooperation partner and invited Israeli participation in a planned technology park focused on information technology, e-commerce, internet applications, and multimedia. Plans also included an Israeli venture-capital delegation intended to promote investment in Hong Kong high-tech companies and startups.[16]

In 2005, Invest Hong Kong appointed Israeli accountant Yossi Shachak and businessman Modi Ashkenazy as its first business representatives in Israel. A delegation headed by Invest Hong Kong vice president Simon Galpin planned to meet Israeli bank executives and companies and encourage them to use Hong Kong as a base for activity in China and East Asia.[17] Invest Hong Kong assessed that Hong Kong and China together formed the fifth-largest market for Israeli telecommunications and software exports and estimated combined Israel–Hong Kong–China trade at approximately $4.5 billion in 2004.[17]

In 2015, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council selected Wolf Communications as its first official representative in Israel, with programs intended to support Israeli startups and technology companies operating in Hong Kong.[18] That year, HKTDC chief executive Margaret Fong made her first visit to Israel and met government-owned and private companies.[19]

Israeli exports to Hong Kong excluding diamonds stood at $632 million in 2016, $606 million in 2017, and $557 million in 2018. Israeli imports from Hong Kong were $827 million in 2017 and $710 million in 2018.[8] For 2019, trade via Hong Kong was estimated at approximately $2 billion excluding diamonds, including about half a billion dollars in Israeli exports, and approximately $5 billion when diamonds were included.[5] Israeli exports to Hong Kong rose by 24% in 2022.[20]

Exports crossed $1 billion for the first time in 2023, rising from $750 million in 2022 to $1.09 billion. The increase was attributed largely to telecommunications equipment, based on Hong Kong Customs data.[21] In 2024, exports rose a further 31% to $1.429 billion, while imports grew 22% to $2.375 billion, bringing two-way goods trade excluding diamonds to $3.804 billion.[4] Computers, electronics, and optical equipment accounted for $986 million of exports, up from $784 million in 2023, and represented 60% of the total export increase. INSS presented Hong Kong's simpler regulatory conditions as a possible route into the Chinese market, rather than a confirmed explanation for the trade pattern.[4]

The Israeli consulate's timeline records a bilateral memorandum on industrial research and development in 2014. In December 2015, Israel's Economy Ministry and Hong Kong's Innovation and Technology Commission launched a program intended to match companies and facilitate joint research and development projects.[2][22] Selected companies could receive support from either or both sides. Hong Kong funding was provided through the Enterprise Support Scheme of the Innovation and Technology Fund, while Israeli funding flowed through the Office of the Chief Scientist, with MATIMOP managing the program.[23]

On April 13, 2016, twelve Israeli biomedical-technology companies met Hong Kong counterparts at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation to explore business and R&D collaboration. The delegation included startups and established companies working in medical devices, healthcare IT, pharmaceuticals, and mobile health. A Hong Kong company collaborating successfully with an Israeli company could apply for up to HK$10 million on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis, while its Israeli partner could receive additional Israeli support; the scheme was open to all sectors.[24]

In July 2023, the Israel Export Institute signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hong Kong Medical and Healthcare Device Industries Association and a local corporation operating health centers, with the stated aim of supporting Israeli medical and technology exports.[21] A four-company Israeli construction-technology delegation visited Hong Kong in June 2024 for seminars, a site visit, presentations, and meetings concerning AI, robotics, carbon-neutral buildings, and safety. The participating companies were Atom Construction, Critaerra, Greenvibe, and qbiq.[25]

In May 2023, Consul-General Amir Lati said Israeli and Hong Kong leaders had begun discussing carbon-neutrality targets and climate policy. Potential fields included professional knowledge-sharing, greenhouse-gas reduction, urban biodiversity and heat, nature-reserve management, and endangered-species preservation. Hong Kong had committed approximately HK$240 billion, around US$31 billion, over 15 to 20 years for climate mitigation and adaptation, while Israel was estimated to have approximately 700 climate-tech startups.[26]

A commercial example emerged in May 2020, when Israeli image-sensor company Newsight Imaging completed a $7 million Series A round with participation from George So of Hong Kong-based AIinnoBio. The investment followed a Hong Kong delegation's visit to Israel arranged by the economic mission. After So encouraged Newsight to adapt its sensor technology, the company developed a rapid Covid-19 detection test, and Sheba Medical Center's ethics committee approved a pilot program in July 2020.[27]

Protests that began in March 2019 over proposed extradition arrangements with mainland China, which critics feared could undermine judicial independence, prompted concerns about Hong Kong's stability as a regional business hub.[27] An INSS analysis reported that mounting instability led some Israeli companies that had previously used Hong Kong as their Asian headquarters to relocate to other cities, including Singapore.[5]

In September 2020, Yoav Haimi, head of Israel's Economic and Commercial Mission to Hong Kong, said pandemic restrictions had made the mission more important because Israeli companies could not as readily travel to arrange meetings. The mission could represent them locally, and companies were concluding deals through video meetings. Haimi said the reported political unrest had not arisen in his business discussions and that he had not personally experienced it in his professional dealings.[27]

The U.S. Congress passed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act in July 2020, and President Donald Trump signed an executive order revoking Hong Kong's special trade status with the United States. These developments formed part of the external environment in which Israel's commercial mission operated.[27] Israel had not publicly commented on Hong Kong's unrest, and an INSS analysis recommended maintaining that reticence.[5]

Despite the turbulence, measured Israel–Hong Kong trade expanded through 2024, while delegations and commercial institutions continued operating into 2025.[4][9]

Several public trade figures require careful reading. The 2024 INSS analysis gives conflicting values for Israeli exports to Hong Kong within the same article: its detailed trade data reports $1.429 billion, while a separate comparison with 2020 describes the 2024 figure as approximately $900 million. The source does not reconcile the difference.[4] A 2025 Israeli trade-mission article reports 2024 Israel–Hong Kong goods trade as US$3.155 million, a figure inconsistent with the INSS total of $3.804 billion excluding diamonds.[9][4]

A 2005 estimate of approximately $4.5 billion combined Israel's trade with both Hong Kong and mainland China and cannot be treated as a Hong Kong-only bilateral figure.[17] More broadly, international economic organizations and Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics record China and Hong Kong as separate trade units, while some analyses examine them together. Historical Israel–China figures also excluded transactions conducted through Hong Kong even when goods were ultimately redirected to the mainland.[3][4] Comparisons across sources and years therefore depend on whether diamonds, mainland China, and Hong Kong-mediated re-exports are included.