The last decade has witnessed two strategic trends affecting Israel’s policy on China. On the one hand are surging Israel-China relations focused on technology, trade, infrastructure, and investment, culminating in the Comprehensive Innovative Partnership signed between the two countries in 2017. On the other hand, the great power competition between the United States and China, often bordering on rivalry, has reached new heights, becoming the most important dynamic on the world stage and shaping the international order as it unfolds. Between an increasingly alarmed Washington and an emergent, assertive Beijing, Jerusalem finds itself between its major strategic ally and an important economic partner.
Israel’s China policy, previously focused on economic opportunity, has thus been compelled to adjust, taking into account not only its top ally’s concerns, but also lessons learned on its own and from other nations, informed by their experience with China. With technology and data at the forefront of the global strategic competition, intellectual property protection and research security are of vital importance. Like other countries, Israel seeks a fruitful and safe relationship with China, striking the right balance between economy and national security. China’s growing interests and presence in the Middle East are another element in Israel’s strategic landscape. Most salient are Beijing’s ties with Tehran, but China’s budding military presence in the region is also noteworthy.
In 2016, an Israel-China Program was established at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) with the generous support of the Glazer Philanthropies. The program aimed to develop knowledge about China in Israel and its strategic environment, informing the Israeli public and providing Israeli decision makers with well-researched policy recommendations. Our team enjoys a variety of China scholars and diplomacy and security practitioners with strong ties to the government of Israel. Our global network includes numerous think tanks and colleagues in Israel and worldwide. Convening academics, businesspeople, and government officials engaged in Israel-China relations allows us to both promote new ideas and integrate different viewpoints on the vital issues at hand.
In 2022, building on the program and its impressive track record in knowledge-based impact, the Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation and INSS jointly established the Israel-China Policy Center as one of the Institute’s leading programs. The Center strives to be a national hub of knowledge and policy-oriented research on Israel-China relations, seeking to enhance Israel’s policy, advance its capability and skills, nurture its community of knowledge and practice, promote professional training, develop knowledge and disseminate it in Israel and overseas, and raise public and official awareness of the subject.
