Chinese technology investors are paying an increasing interest in Israeli companies.

中国科技股投资者对以色列公司的兴趣与日俱增。

That's according to the Independent newspaper, who reports that Chinese firms invested a record £12.8 billion in Israeli companies last year.

A significant proportion of these were technology businesses, with the Israeli economy gaining a growing reputation for nurturing exciting start-ups.

The news comes as the USA has arguably started to lose its edge as the global center of technological innovation.

A report in 2016 revealed that China has 'pulled-ahead' of Silicon Valley in the race to innovate.

Technological advances that the newspaper attributes to China include QR codes, live-streaming video and ride-hailing. Of course, these have now been adopted by Western firms like Uber and Periscope, but have their roots in China.