Including personal terms, Zahavi's 30-month contract with Guangzhou was worth $12.5 million (9.28 million pounds), a Maccabi official said.
Zahavi, 28, who is also the national team captain, led Maccabi to three consecutive Israeli league titles between 2012 and 2015 and this season broke the individual league scoring record that had stood for 61 years.
Despite Maccabi finishing as runners-up to Hapoel Beersheba this season, it was Zahavi's most prolific campaign and he scored 35 goals in 36 league fixtures.
In his previous two full seasons for Maccabi, he scored 29 and 28 goals respectively. The old individual scoring record of 30 goals was set in 1954-55.
(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Clare Fallon)
