Israel has reached ‘peak China’ – US pressure and domestic concerns mean relations won’t improve from here
- US-China rivalry, Israel’s growing concerns over security and technology, plus its disapproval of Beijing’s ties to Iran, mean flourishing Sino-Israeli relations have nowhere to go but down
Instead, it will be cumulative and subtle. It will unfold over the next 12-18 months and it will seek to selectively blunt Beijing’s investment and diplomatic push into Israel and the region, even as Jerusalem tries to build upon the positive aspects of its economic relationship with Beijing. Israel has reached “peak China”.
Like other peak narratives when they first emerge, such a shift by Israel seems contrary to the zeitgeist. From Tel Aviv to Haifa to the Negev, signs of a booming Sino-Israeli economic, technological and cultural collaboration are everywhere. In the last decade alone, the annual value of Israel-China merchandise trade has doubled to well over US$10 billion.
There are now several bilateral governmental dialogues aimed at forging technology collaboration; numerous academic and cultural exchange programmes; and substantial and increasing Chinese direct and indirect (through venture capital funds) investment in Israeli start-ups and companies – especially in the technology sector.
A number of influential Israelis have begun to publicly question the economic, political and strategic logic of Israel’s relationship with China
For Israel, the boom has largely been organic and ad hoc (at least until recently), driven primarily by a globally minded private sector seeking dynamic new markets, much as it had previously done with Japan and India.