The long-term agreement between the two countries has not been finalized, and its scope and security implications seem to be limited. It is unlikely to force Israel into a complete reconsideration of its economic ties to China.
China aims to play a more proactive role in the Middle East, maintaining cordial relations with all rival countries. Beijing attaches great importance to its ties with Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Egypt, and therefore has welcomed the Abraham Accords (albeit in lukewarm fashion, because of tensions with the Trump administration).
Trump’s Middle East peace plan and the recent Israel-Arab peace accords limit Chinese influence in the region. Countering this, China is advancing a collective security concept for the region based on the JCPOA. The US and Israel must stymie this Chinese gambit and reinforce the Abraham Accords.
The growing friction between China and Australia is a function of Beijing’s swagger and self-confidence. Israel must take note of Beijing’s aggressive behavior, and cautiously navigate its own relations with China.
Israel should work with China so that its initiative doesn’t interfere with the Abraham Accords, and should seek to capitalize on common denominators between Beijing and Washington.
Beijing’s anti-Israel statements and actions during the recent Gaza operation undermined Israeli trust in China.
Israel gives China a little taste of its own medicine at UN
Tuvia Gering: Chinese state-affiliated media, diplomats, CCP members and nationalist keyboard warriors have lashed out at Israel with anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist comments.
China keen to step up in Mideast as US shifts attention to Indo-Pacific
Tuvia Gering: The Chinese “blitz” on the Middle East seeks to secure Arab-Muslim support for Chinese core interests and to fortify the “Chinese camp” in the face of the “anti-Chinese” faction led by the Biden administration.
In May 2021, an Israeli company became the first documented case of China imposing free expression limitations on a foreign business under the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law. Democracies must ensure that their citizens are not prosecuted for exercising their basic rights.
The Complicated, Confusing Nature of China’s Ties With Israel
Interview with Tuvia Gering
