Members of China’s business community and Israel Robotics Association met in Tel Aviv to sign a lucrative deal. Photo: Israel Defense.

Chinese businessmen are on the verge of investing millions of dollar in Israeli robotics research, Israeli news site Israeli Defense reported on Monday.

The Israeli Robotics Association (IROB) signed a $20 million deal in Tel Aviv on Monday with investors from China’s Guangzhou (also known as Canton) province.

“The Chinese investors are interested in investing in Israeli companies and in developing products for the Chinese market,” said IROB Chair Professor Zvi Shiller.

Earlier in September, it was decided that an Israeli robotics R&D center — called SIRI (Sino-Israeli Robotics Institute) — would be established in Guangzhou to meet the growing need for robotics in China’s manufacturing sector. This week’s deal launches the start of a SIRI counterpart in Israel.