China’s Quiet Rapprochement With Israel

“The war continues, but the war is not the theme of Israel-China bilateral relations.”

Public outrage over Israel’s escalating genocide in Gaza has intensified so much in recent weeks that even Israel’s closest friends in Europe, including the UK, France and Germany, have begun to express reservations.

In the UK, Labour backbenchers have intensified their calls for the Keir Starmer government to impose economic sanctions on Israel while the former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, now an independent MP, has requested a parliamentary inquiry into the UK’s supporting role in Israel’s near-annihilation of the Gaza Strip.

Legal Ass Covering

Granted, many of these objections, especially those coming from the highest levels of government in countries like the UK, Germany and France, fall into one or more of three categories: “empty rhetoric”, “too little, too late”, and/or “attempted legal ass-covering”. As Norman Finkelstein explains in an interview with India & Global Left, Europe’s senior politicians know exactly what is about to happen, which is why they are trying to cover their ass after spending much of the past 21 months cheering on Israel’s army:

That’s why they start to denounce Israel — because they want to keep their hands clean at the moment when they knew that ‘this is it’, that Israel was going to push [the Gazans] out. So they decide they have to be on record as opposing the second… Nakba. They knew what Israel was doing and they wanted to distance themselves.

So, you remember, the French, Canadians and British denounced what Israel was doing. Then the Germans weighed in. Then the Nazi Princess Ursula Von der Leyen weighed in. Then the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas weighed in. They all needed to have it on record that ‘we opposed’ it. They all knew what Israel was planning.

Also, while some of the language used in official public statements and press releases may have changed in recent weeks, the actions haven’t.

Just days after Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul criticised Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, he reiterated Germany’s continuing materiel support for those actions. In the UK, Keir Starmer, who allegedly cut his teeth practicing international human rights law, decried the situation in Gaza as “appalling and intolerable.” Hours later, another UK spy plane was doing the rounds over Gaza collecting yet more actionable intel for the IAF’s bombing campaigns.

This evening, hours after Corbyn presented his Bill for an inquiry into UK and Gaza…

A US military plane—used by special forces—flew from RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus to Tel Aviv

Soon after, Starmer sent a spy plane from same base to collect intel over Gaza for Israel

In air now pic.twitter.com/GY9aLc2J55

— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) June 4, 2025

All that being said, the mere fact that the language is shifting in many Western capitals is nonetheless relevant. It means that even some of Israel’s biggest apologists have finally run out of words to excuse or obfuscate its worst war crimes, now they are reaching their final phases.

Piers Morgan, who is as reliable a barometer of shifting Anglo-American public opinion as one is likely to find, is finally calling Israel’s military campaign against Gaza, now in its 21st month, a genocide. When even the likes of Morgan are no longer willing to defend the indefensible in Gaza, the Netanyahu regime’s PR offensive has finally collapsed. That would be good news, if it wasn’t already too late. With 92% of Gaza’s housing units and 70% of all structures already destroyed or damaged, Gaza is already uninhabitable.

But not all the talk is inconsequential for Israel, claims an op-ed in the FT:

In the past few weeks, EU foreign ministers have triggered a review of Israel’s association agreement with the bloc, Britain has halted trade talks, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund blacklisted an Israeli company for facilitating energy deliveries to West Bank settlements, and the leaders of France, the UK and Canada threatened to put sanctions on the country.

The sanctions the EU imposed on Israeli settlers late last year are already beginning to bite, it seems. Just yesterday, Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich lambasted the country’s banks that have refused to provide services to sanctioned Israeli settlers. Smotrich called on the lenders not to comply with the sanctions, warning that failure to do so could result in them facing steep compensation bills.

“Building Meaningful Partnerships”

However, not everyone is trying — or even pretending — to distance themselves from Tel Aviv right now. The People’s Republic of China, for example, is actually seeking to strengthen its ties with Israel.

After initially siding with Palestine (and Hamas) following October 7, Beijing is now looking to rebuild ties with Israel. Just four days ago, as Israel’s Defence Forces were unleashing coordinated attacks on aid depots, China’s ambassador to Israel Xiao Junzheng discussed “deepening China-Israel economic and trade cooperation” with Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry, Nir Barkat.

“In a world where economic resilience and innovation matter more than ever,” said Xiao Junzheng, “building meaningful partnerships is key.”

In a world where economic resilience and innovation matter more than ever, building meaningful partnerships is key.
Had a productive exchange with Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry @NirBarkat — we expressed shared expectations for deepening China-Israel economic and trade… pic.twitter.com/ISSdkTgJ7W

— Xiao Junzheng 肖军正 (@ChnAmbXIAO) May 29, 2025

Beijing’s relationship with Israel has always been complex. Israel was the first country in the Middle East to recognise People’s Republic of China, in 1950. However, the People’s Republic of China did not return the favour by recognising and beginning formal relations with Israel until 1992 — 42 years later. Since then, the economic and strategic ties between the two countries have grown and deepened, to the point that China is now Israel’s second largest trade partner.

At the same time, the PRC has strengthened its ties with Israel’s main regional rival, Tehran, and has been providing weaponry not only to Iran, including allegedly material for hundreds of ballistic missiles, but also Iran’s three main proxies in the region, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi militia. Beijing also refused to condemn Hamas’ attack on October 7, and only broke its silence a week later to criticise Israel for its military invasion of Gaza and demand a ceasefire.

In April 2024, Ma Xinmin, a Foreign Ministry legal department official, set out Beijing’s stance at an International Court of Justice hearing in February:

“In pursuit of the right to self-determination, the Palestinian people’s use of force to resist foreign oppression and to complete the establishment of an independent state is an inalienable right well founded in international law.”

A month later, the RAND corporation concluded that Beijing was effectively “burning its bridges with Israel”. A couple of weeks ago, rumours even swirled that Chinese jet fighters had broken Israel’s blockade of Gaza to deliver much-needed supplies to Gaza’s starving people. It was fake news that most supporters of the multipolar world order wanted to believe. In reality, China is cosying up to Israel.

Throughout Israel’s military operations in Gaza, Beijing, like most national governments, has maintained steady trade relations with Tel Aviv. Chinese investors, like most investors worldwide, have continued to invest in Israeli firms. As the Israeli technology news website CTech reported in March, China’s new ambassador in Tel Aviv, Xiao Junzheng, is on a diplomatic mission to strengthen relations and expand business between the two countries:

“China remains committed to developing our historical friendship with the Jewish people,” he continues, despite China’s historical support for Arab states in their wars against Israel. “The war continues, but the war is not the theme of Israel-China bilateral relations. For more than 33 years, China-Israel relations have withstood the test of history and always maintained stable development.”

Indeed, China is Israel’s largest trading partner in Asia and its second-largest worldwide. According to China Customs, bilateral trade volume increased from approximately $8 billion in 2013 to $25.45 billion in 2022, before dropping to $14.5 billion in 2023. At the same time, in 2024, Israeli imports from China reached a record high of $13.53 billion – a nearly 20% increase from 2023. “Chinese companies in Israel have not evacuated or stopped their business. They have been sticking to their posts and fulfilling the contracts,” Xiao asserts.

Chinese business interests in Israel, unsurprisingly, are largely tech-focused:

In recent years, Israel-China relations have grown significantly, particularly in technology and trade. “We want to encourage more Chinese investors to come to Israel,” he notes. However, Chinese investors tend to favor later-stage companies, preferring to see technology’s maturity before committing capital. But the ambassador also has his eye on the other side of the equation:

“At the same time, we want Israeli companies and investors to come to China. It’s a super market. The utility for cutting-edge high tech is the biggest advantage of the Chinese market.”

Chinese investments in Israeli tech are focused on autonomous driving, healthcare, clean energy, and agriculture – industries where Israeli innovation can help China tackle pressing challenges. “Israel is at the forefront of the world in autonomous driving and V2X (vehicle-to-everything) technology,” Xiao notes. But beyond vehicles, China sees Israeli expertise as crucial for food security and water management:

“Israel’s water-saving irrigation and smart agricultural technology are key to solving food security and water shortages. Chinese capital is also paying attention to Israel’s innovations in solar energy and energy storage.”

Granted, China, unlike the US, tries to keep out of the domestic politics of its trade partners as much as possible, refraining from imposing its own principles and standards on others. And this has been a large part of its success, allowing it to forge win-win partnerships with governments of wildly divergent hues, ideologies, and political systems around the world.

It is one of the main reasons why ideologically opposed governments like Bolsonaro’s in Brazil and Milei’s in Argentina have maintained close ties with Beijing, the other being economic necessity. As Milei recently said, “China is a very interesting trading partner.” They “do not make demands, the only thing they ask is that they not be bothered.”

At the same time, however, China has positioned itself as a leading defender of the Global South. In a speech in early March, Foreign Minister Wang Yi described China as a natural member of the Global South:

“… [b]ecause we have fought colonialism and hegemonism together in history and we are committed to the common goal of development and revitalization No matter how the world changes, our heart will always be with the Global South, and our root will grow deeper in the Global South. China will work with all Global South countries to add a new chapter to the annals of the history of the world.”

That seemed to be what was happening in relation to Palestine — until recently. By mid-2024 Chinese diplomacy had brought together 14 disparate Palestinian factions — a move that resonated not only with Palestinian leaders but also with some of the region’s biggest powers. From the Spanish news and analysis website Agenda Pública (machine translated):

Delegations from Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Russia and Turkey converged on Beijing to witness the signing of the Declaration, a moment that symbolized China’s growing status as a potential mediating superpower. The Beijing Declaration set out an ambitious three-step approach:

1. 1. Establish a sustainable ceasefire that would allow the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza;
   2. Form a temporary reconciliation government to ensure Palestinian self-government;
   3. Renew efforts for the formal accession of Palestine to the United Nations as part of a broader two-State solution.

Nick here. This was the big flaw in the plan. As we have argued since the early days of Israel’s “Gazacide”, there will not be a two-state solution in Israel, for the simple reason that Israel has created facts on the ground that make it impossible. Back to the Agenda Pública piece:

However, the promise contained in the Beijing Declaration has been hampered by a critical shortcoming: its inherent ambiguity. Despite the innovative nature of the document, it failed to clearly delineate the timelines, institutional frameworks, and enforceable mechanisms needed for its ambitious agenda. As the conflict escalated in the months that followed, these shortcomings became more pronounced. The absence of specific commitments left many regional stakeholders sceptical about whether the Declaration could be translated into a practical and long-term solution. Beijing’s recent withdrawal from the mediation spotlight, therefore, not only reflects a cautious recalibration in the face of growing risks, but also exposes the limitations of its previous diplomatic initiative.

Since then, China also seems to be more focused on strengthening its economic ties with Israel. Perhaps most controversially, Chinese companies and workers are allegedly helping to sustain Israeli settlements in the West Bank — in direct contradiction with Beijing’s public opposition to the settlements. That’s according to a recent exposé by Razan Shawamreh in Middle East Eye:

Amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Chinese officials have publicly expressed concerns over increased settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated in September last year that Israel must “stop the illegal settlement activities in the West Bank”.

But while Beijing speaks of restraint, Chinese companies act in support of occupation and the settler-colonial project in Palestine.

One of the most striking examples is Adama Agricultural Solutions, a former Israeli company now fully owned by the Chinese state-run firm China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina). Amid the Gaza war, Adama mobilised its workers “to support farmers who have been suffering from a shortage of workers … [including] farmers in the south, in the surrounding residents of the Gaza Envelope and in the northern settlements”, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post…

Adama has a long history of collaborating with settler institutions. Its products have been used in agricultural trials conducted in Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley, and even more troubling, one of its herbicides has been used by a contractor of the Israeli military in aerial spraying that has destroyed vegetation along the Gaza border.

While China presents itself as a neutral or sympathetic actor in the conflict, its ownership of Adama links it directly to the militarised destruction of Palestinian livelihoods.

Supporting colonial entrenchment
This is not an isolated case. In recent years, several state-owned Chinese companies, along with other private Chinese firms, have invested directly or indirectly in Israeli settlements or companies operating within them.

Take the case of Tnuva, a major Israeli food producer that operates in illegal settlements. Despite international calls to boycott the company, China’s state-owned conglomerate Bright Food acquired a 56 percent stake in Tnuva in 2014.

In 2021, Tnuva won a tender to operate 22 public transportation lines that serve 16 settlements in Mateh Yehuda – all built on occupied land in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. These aren’t just buses; they’re infrastructure supporting colonial entrenchment, making settler life easier and more permanent.

Beijing’s rapprochement with Tel Aviv has not escaped the attention of Israel’s US allies. When the Netanyahu government issued permission to China’s state-owned Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) to double the capacity of its Bay Port in Haifa, Newsweek published an op-ed by Gordon G Chang, a prominent anti-Chinese hawk, warning that the decision “entrenches China in one of Israel’s most strategic locations,… a mere 1.8 kilometres away from the Israeli navy’s main base” in Haifa.

Now, to cut China some slack, it is not actively participating in Israel’s genocide, unlike the US, the UK and Germany. Nor is it vetoing UN Security Council resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the lifting of restrictions on humanitarian aid like the US just did.

But the fact that the world’s rising superpower and self-described defender of the Global South is looking to deepen its economic and trade ties with Tel Aviv precisely at a time when the Netanyahu government is systematically starving the people of Gaza in a bid to drive them out is testimony to the international community’s abject failings in bringing pressure to bear on Israel throughout this shameful period.

With the exception of the Houthis’ brave military campaign against Israeli shipping, for which Yemen has already paid a steep price; the decision by a handful of countries in the Global South, particularly in Latin America, to sever diplomatic ties with Israel, including Colombia’s decision to block all domestic exports of coal to Israel, for which it has also paid a price; and South Africa’s decision to bring the genocide action against Israel at the ICJ, for which it has faced Washington’s wrath, the overwhelming picture has been one of gross systematic inaction.