Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to make an official visit to China in early May 2013. This would be the first visit by an Israeli prime minister to China in over six years, and given the rarity of the meetings between the two heads of state and China’s increased influence internationally, the trip is important. This will be an opportunity for Israel to meet China’s new leaders, some of whom are expected to remain in their positions for the next ten years.
This crisis on the Korean Peninsula concerns first of all the Northeast Asian regional system, with roots in the ongoing conflict between the two Koreas, their formal and informal alliances with states in the region, and relations with the United States. However, given the issues at the heart of the conflict and the powers involved, the ramifications of the conflict are much broader. The central role played by China and the United States in the crisis and the implicit and explicit use of nuclear means and ballistic missiles is what...
Several issues related to the production of natural gas in Israel’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) have not yet been properly analyzed and no decision concerning them has been adopted. Some of these issues have economic as well as political strategic implications, and particularly as they are within an industry that is guided by long term policies and a contractual framework, it is important that they be considered thoroughly. In the wake of developments in the gas market that suggest that China may become a major customer of...
On October 31, 2012, China deviated from its traditional posture of shunning involvement in Middle East politics, and announced a four-step program to resolve the crisis in Syria. The initiative, however, does not include concrete actions and seems powerless to change the situation. If so, is the step meaningless, or does it have some significance not apparent at first glance?
Over the past several years China has been developing operational capabilities in the field of cyberspace warfare. A cyber attack may be defined as the unauthorized penetration of computer and communications systems belonging to individuals or organizations for the purpose of espionage and information theft, in order thereby to damage or disrupt the functioning of these systems or to damage other systems dependent on them, even to a point of causing actual physical damage. Despite denials by the Chinese government, researchers posit...
On August 14, 2011 General Chen Bingde, the Chinese Chief of Staff, arrived on a state visit to Israel. Although the visit it not expected to generate a profound change in the bilateral military ties, it has aroused a great deal of attention. First of all, the visit is being portrayed as part of a growing military relationship between the countries. This occasion, the first time a Chinese chief of staff has visited Israel, comes on the heels of a visit to Israel in May 2011 by the commander of the Chinese navy, while the following...
The announcement that China was joining the new round of talks over sanctions against Iran was received initially as welcome news, although this does not necessarily indicate a change in Chinese policy or suggest that the international struggle against Iran will now gather renewed momentum. Nevertheless, it is important to examine what is motivating China to join the talks and the possible ramifications of this move.
When President Obama met with the president of China in Beijing last month, he cautioned that he would not be able to block an Israeli attack against Iran much longer unless there is progress in the attempts to stop Iran’s nuclear program. This warning was intended to persuade China of the urgent need for additional sanctions against Iran. Yet even if the potential success of this warning is questionable, it raises questions about Chinese interests in Iran and the Middle East as a whole, about Israel’s place vis-à-vis...
The memorandum analyzes current bilateral relations between Israel and China in various domains, and considers how Israel might prepare to reassess its policy vis-a-vis China in light of China’s increasing global economic power and rising importance as a leading international actor.
From January 9 to January 12, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert carried out a state visit to China. Olmert and his party, which this time did not include businessmen, came to a different China, one which in the past few months has decided not to content itself any longer with foreign expressions of admiration for its unprecedented building boom or impressive production and trade figures; that praise always smacked a bit of paternalism by the developed world for a backward country. Instead, China is now focusing on the need to...
