America or China, Israel Must Choose

The Chinese economy has swept the world, and this worries America a lot. How will the American reaction be to Beijing's large investments in the Middle East, and its recent remarkable presence in the Israeli entity?

Despite the important relations between the Israel entity and China, which the administration of former US President Donald Trump has already warned about; Tel Aviv cannot ignore the tensions between Washington and Beijing.

A press website and a Hebrew Studies Institute affirmed that Israel must choose between China and America, pointing out that it is necessary to choose Washington, not Beijing.

The Hebrew "Maariv" website indicated that choosing between the Chinese "chow Mein" meal and the American "hamburger" is "not easy, especially if you want both."

It added, "In the culinary world, it is more difficult to choose than in the political world, in economic relations, in the field of defense production and industrialization."

Maariv pointed out that "China-Israel relations have developed rapidly, and the volume of trade exchange is between $12 billion and $15 billion annually, which makes Beijing the third largest trading partner of Israel after Europe and America."

“Because of the sensitivity of the matter, much of the security cooperation between Tel Aviv and Beijing was not widely known, and there were partial fluctuations in cooperation between the two sides as a result of the American intervention,” according to the site.

It pointed out that "in 2000, American pressure on the Israeli entity led to canceling a huge plane deal from Israel to China, and there were many similar cases."

“Although Israeli occupation has always been keen to prevent the leakage of information or American materials and industries to the Chinese, this did not prevent American parties from publishing false information at times about the matter,” according to the website.

Maariv political analyst Zalman Shoebill referred to an article published by "The Washington Times" in 1992 that said: " the Israel entity transferred sensitive Patriot missile technology to China, and possibly a complete missile."

It pointed out that the newspaper article quoted "American intelligence sources" and officials at the State Department and the Pentagon as saying: "These allegations and accusations are serious."

The Israeli analyst also alluded to the Wall Street Journal accusing Israel of "transferring American military technology to China and other countries."

Shoebill considered that what is worse is that Congress referred the matter to the State Accountability Office, pointing to Israel's denial of this talk, although Israeli government spokesman refused to deny the matter completely.

 

Belt and Road

The Israeli analyst pointed out that "economic and other relations between Israel and China continued to develop, and Chinese companies invested in various areas of infrastructure and technology."

He stressed that China occupies an important position in the expansion and management of Israeli ports, and that a branch of a Chinese university will operate in Tel Aviv in October 2021, led by the former Israeli ambassador to China Matan Vilnai.

He explained that "the branch will study and learn the Chinese language and conduct study visits to China," believing that "China aims to spread secret propaganda and political and cultural influence on students."

"For China, these investments and activities are part of the Belt and Road Initiative, which integrates economic and geostrategic goals," said the Israeli analyst.

He added, "If the close relationship between the Israeli and China displeased Washington in the past, the issue is now more important in light of the growing global tensions between America and China."

He pointed out that "the Trump administration warned the Israeli occupation against deepening relations with China, but in the administration of US President Joe Biden, the confrontation has become multi-dimensional with China and a major and central issue in its foreign policy."

In July 2021, Washington officially accused the Chinese Ministry of Homeland Security of launching a cyber-attack on the American company Microsoft and described Beijing's actions as a real threat to the security of America and its allies.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a directive that "Beijing is America's greatest challenge," and Biden called in his meetings with European leaders to form a united front against Chinese tendencies.

The Chinese expert and one of Biden's political advisors, Rush Doshi, wrote in his new book, "The Long-Term Game," that China's goal is to achieve absolute global supremacy over America within 30 years.

The Israeli analyst said: Despite its important relations with China, the Israeli cannot ignore the direction of American foreign policy, its main strategic ally, and about half of the Israelis live there.

He added, "It is certainly desirable to have both Chinese chow mein and American hamburgers, but if you are asked to choose, the Israeli occupation should choose the hamburger, that is, America."

 

China and the Middle East

In a related context, the Hebrew National Security Institute indicated that China's participation in the Middle East has steadily increased, and for the first time in its history it had direct interests and an increasing dependence on imported energy sources.

He stressed that China's new position as a global power increases the economic, political and strategic benefits it derives from the region, pointing out that "just as this situation provides opportunities, it also presents challenges for the Israeli entity."

The Hebrew Institute asserted that "China can be an important source of foreign investment and act as a mediator between the Israeli entity and regional players in the region, and its military, political and economic activities in the region may harm the Israeli entity’s interests."

It commented, "Whether the challenges outweigh the opportunities or vice versa, Israel cannot ignore the growing Chinese presence in the Middle East."

It said, "the Israeli entity should evaluate China's goals and moves in this field, and formulate a clear policy with it, while developing tools and channels to achieve its goals in relations with China."

It stressed that the research program for China in the Middle East, which was established at the institute, examines this mission and aims to know China's participation in the Middle East and the Israeli entity, and to provide Israeli decision makers with visions and political recommendations.