Upon the Hamas terror attack on October 7 and the ensuing war, it was the liberal democracies of the East and West that stood by Israel in its hour of need, with the United States taking the lead. Countries such as China and Russia, on the other hand, have chosen to cynically exploit Israel’s plight to promote anti-Western and anti-liberal narratives. As a result, they perpetuate both Palestinian terrorism and that of Iranian-backed militias. Accordingly, and as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ends its second year, voices in...
In recent years the technological struggle between the United States and China has intensified. Washington has increased its efforts to deny Beijing access to advanced technologies and has announced huge investments to accelerate technological research and development, in order to secure its status as the world’s strongest economic power. At the same, time, the United States is demanding that its partners join the fight and adopt a policy of restricting China’s research, development, and manufacturing capabilities in the field of...
While attacks by the Houthis on Israel and civilian shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait continue to mark the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, China has been virtually silent, with no significant condemnation, and certainly no concrete action. China has also refrained from joining the US-initiated task force to protect navigation in the region, and its warships have failed to respond to distress calls from attacked ships. Beijing’s global pretensions collide with a low glass ceiling whenever they require any substantive...
China’s initial view of the current war between Israel and Hamas was that it was no different from past hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians. However, Beijing was wrong and now finds itself in an uncomfortable position. The United States has strengthened its reputation as the provider of defense protection in the region, while China is positioned as a member of the opposite axis – contrary to its desire to be seen as “peace-loving” – and Beijing realizes that it must minimize the damage and repair its image. In order to...
The inaugural meeting of the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) between India and the United States was held in January 2023. The initiative represents the desire of the United States to deepen its influence in the Indo-Pacific region and weaken India’s ties with China and Russia, notwithstanding the ideological differences between the two countries, This occurs within the framework of the “friendshoring” policy and reliance on the production of critical technological components in friendly countries. The...
This paper surveys the trends in trade between Israel and China, in both goods and services, over the past decade (2013–2022). Especially noticeable is the significant and consistent rise in trade with Israel during those years, based mostly on the import of goods from China, which totaled $17.62 billion in 2022. The imports from China are diverse and include machinery for infrastructure and construction projects, consumer products ordered from Chinese websites, which to some degree has mitigated the rise in the cost of living in...
The United States recently imposed a record fine on an overseas company that manufactures its products outside the borders of the United States, for violating US export controls. The incident demonstrates how the extraterritorial nature of the US rules of oversight over exports becomes a significant potential problem for Israeli companies, which could pay a hefty price for violating US export rules – even if they have not broken any Israeli laws. This case can also inform the conduct needed from Israeli oversight authorities to...
Over the past decade, China has stepped up its “threat diplomacy” toward Taiwan, including military signals by air and sea, and even missile launches close to Taiwan; economic threats, including sanctions, tariffs, blockades on exports/ imports; cyber and cognitive attacks, and constant efforts to reduce global recognition of Taiwan. In addition to these threats, economic enticements are offered to those who follow China’s lead. The “threat diplomacy” intensified as Taiwan enhanced its relations with the United States, which...
While western media has widely covered the so-called “judicial reform” in Israel, with reports about this coverage frequently appearing in the Israeli media, Chinese media coverage of these events has so far evaded the Israeli audience. As the Chinese authorities, of course, do not perceive the idea of liberal democracy as particularly appealing, and since the media in China is subject to strict scrutiny and censorship, Chinese coverage of the “reform” and the protests against it are presented somewhat differently than in democratic...
Since the start of the final quarter of 2022, China has worked vigorously to extricate itself from the internal crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the severe restrictions imposed by the Chinese government in the wake of the pandemic, which led to an economic slowdown and damaged China’s image as an emerging power. China’s image was also harmed by its identification as an ideological, political, economic, and security ally of Russia, the invader of Ukraine. The efforts to rehabilitate its image and weaken the wall that the...
In March 2023, Chinese leader Xi Jinping marked several highly successful events. Internally, he was “reelected” for a third term as President, and externally, he brokered a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran – without any American involvement. These two developments coincided with the Two Sessions, China’s annual parliament meeting, where Xi passed far-reaching reforms aimed at increasing China’s economic and technological self-reliance in the face of Western adversaries. Judging by his remarks, it...
Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to renew their diplomatic relations following talks held in Beijing. Ten days after the signing of that agreement, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Moscow, and his arrival there was seen by many as another possible mediation attempt by China – this time, between Russia and Ukraine. These events suggest that China is interested in positioning itself as an international mediator, against the backdrop of China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI). Even if the events are primarily vague rhetoric and not...
