Model of the Israeli Amos-5 satellite, the earlier version of the Amos-6. Credit: Wikipedia.

JNS.org — The Chinese telecommunications conglomerate Xinwei Telecom Technology Group is buying Israeli satellite operator SpaceCom for $285 million, representing the latest of several recent Chinese purchases of Israeli companies and technologies.

Chinese companies invested about $500 million in Israeli companies last year, according to an analysis by the Ettinger Report. Israel’s trade with China is $11 billion, which represents 10 percent of Israel’s overall trade balance and double its 2010 trade balance.

Israeli technologies of special interest to Chinese companies include agro-technology and irrigation. In 2015, China’s Bright Food acquired Israel’s dairy product maker Tnuva for $2 billion. In 2011, China’s National Chemical Corp. bought Israeli pesticides and crop protection company Adama for $2.4 billion.