Jack Ma, chairperson and founder of E-commerce giant Alibaba, will visit Israel in late October for the second time in six months. Ma's upcoming visit will coincide with the arrival of Chinese VP Wang Qishan to take part in the Prime Minister's Office Innovation Conference. Ma is likely to be one of the keynote speakers at the Innovation Conference.
Ma announced last month that he would resign as chairperson of Alibaba, but he will leave his position only in September 2019 in order to give the company time to prepare.
Several separate events will take place in Israel in the framework of the Innovation Conference. The main event, the conference itself, will be held on October 24 in the evening by the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An event of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation will be held the next day. Qishan will be a guest of honor at both events.
In the next few days, Prime Minister's Office acting director general and chief of staff Yuval Horowitz will visit China at the head of a task force meeting between the two countries. This forum was jointly founded by the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Prime Minister's Office in order to coordinate economic cooperation between Israel and China.
Qishan, the right-hand man of Chinese President Xi Jinping, is responsible for economic affairs and foreign relations between China and the US, including intelligence matters.
Ma's first visit to Israel in May, one of the most intriguing in Israel, included stops at Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) and Mobileye. During his weeklong visit, he met with Israeli intellectuals and religious leaders in an attempt to understand the startup nation. He also joined 30 managers of companies in the Alibaba group in a meeting with Nobel Prize winner Prof. Robert Aumann. Members of the group asked Aumann about Jewish attitudes and the historical background of the Jewish people. Ma toured the Dead Sea, Jaffa, and the Old City of Jerusalem.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 8, 2018
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