A blue rose. Photo: wiki commons.

China’s Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences has signed an agreement to use Israeli technology to grow blue roses – considered to be a special and luxurious flower in Chinese culture – in the city of Fuzhou.

A farm in Fuzhou will feature Israeli technologies that improve fish farming, advanced dairy making equipment, and clean chicken coops, along with the blue roses, in an attempt by the Chinese to market foreign products to local companies.

“The collaboration between the agricultural research institute and the Israeli companies will be commercial and will include investors from the private sector in China, such as one of China’s largest supermarket chains,” said Avner Shochat, who represents the Israeli companies involved in this collaboration.

In China, the blue rose is a symbol of one’s belief that they can capture seemingly unattainable love. In Chinese folklore, the son of a gardener once married the daughter of a Chinese emperor because of his ability to find the flower before other men who were in pursuit of her hand in marriage.

The agreement also provides copyright and intellectual property protection for the Israeli technologies and products.