JERUSALEM -- Israeli imports from China rose by 14.6 percent in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report published by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.

In 2020, Israeli imports from China, excluding diamonds, amounted to 9.44 billion U.S. dollars, compared to 8.24 billion dollars in 2019.

With the latest figure, China has become the country from which Israel imports the most, compared to 2019 when the United States topped the list of Israeli imports.

Israeli imports from the United States fell by 31.2 percent to 7.77 billion dollars in 2020 from 11.3 billion dollars in 2019.

Meanwhile, Israeli exports to China decreased by 2.69 percent in 2020, totalling 4.7 billion dollars, compared to 4.83 billion dollars in 2019.