Energy Minister Moshe Shahal said Wednesday night that the Peoples Republic of China may soon sell coal to Israel. If the deal goes through, it would be the first publicly acknowledged trade between the two countries.
Shahal spoke on his return from a visit to France, where he had two meetings with China’s Deputy Minister for Coal. Both men were attending the International Energy Congress in Cannes.
Shahal said the Chinese Minister seemed “willing to sell” and the Beijing government had promised a speedy response to Israel’s questions on price and quality of the coal. There have been persistent reports here and abroad of contacts between Israel and China in various areas and of some trade already underway between them.
There will be no Daily News Bulletins dated October 12 and 13 because of Yom Kippur.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.