Publications

China is undertaking efforts to influence the Israeli public through China Radio International (CRI), embassy activities that include journalist delegations and the publication of articles and interviews in Israeli media, and collaborations with local media outlets. While China works to promote narratives favorable to its global image, it is important that the public be able to distinguish between legitimate influence efforts and covert operations aimed at shaping public consciousness. Therefore, the Israeli media should examine the...

On January 20, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in against the backdrop of inter-power competition shaping American foreign policy. The president has announced his cabinet nominees, including those who have previously taken hawkish stances toward China, alongside individuals with significant commercial interests in the country. It appears that Trump is torn between the desire to “make China pay,” given his belief that trade relations between the superpowers are unfair, and his open admiration for Chinese President Xi...

The summit of the leaders of BRICS member states held in October 2024 in Kazan, Russia, with the participation of the organization’s new members—UAE, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia—highlighted a strategy characteristic of the Cold War era: non-alignment with a global superpower. This approach persists despite the aspirations of Russia and China to transform BRICS into an alternative to the Western-led global order. Thus, the organization is shaping itself as a mechanism for cooperation but not for coordination or the advancement of a...

The conduct of China and Taiwan since the October 7 massacre in the context of the Swords of Iron war reflects differences in their interests, objectives, and strategic positions with respect to Israel, the Middle East, and the international arena. While China is opposed to Israel and sympathetic to Hamas, Taiwan shows sympathy and support for Israel. In spite of the emerging clarity, Israel should not at this stage change its fundamental policy on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has once again highlighted the gaps between Chinese words and deeds when it comes to Israel and the Palestinians. In its rhetoric, China has sided with the Palestinians; in deeds, it has provided them with less financial aid than many other countries. Over the past few months, Beijing has tried to argue that its position vis-à-vis the war is objective, but it has wholeheartedly adopted the narrative of the Arab states. China declared that it is countering antisemitism, but the social media...

On January 13, William Lai, the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was elected president of Taiwan. A few days earlier, for the first time in four years, the United States-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks took place in Washington, marking the end of a prolonged round of tension between the two powers, which had peaked in August 2022 when the speaker of the US House of Representatives visited Taiwan. Taiwan is a major point of friction in the already tense relations between the two powers. Managing the...