Ties between China and "Israel" are seeing a path perhaps to rock bottom amid the war on Gaza, and issues with the US and national security, according to China's South China Morning Post, citing an Israeli expert. 

Assaf Orion, director of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Israel-China Policy Centre at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) said, "The purpose for Israel remains to have friendly and fruitful relations with China," adding, "At the same time, these relations are managed under considerations of national security, like China does itself."

He noted that "Israel's" national security included "taking into account the US’ concerns".

"Hopefully we can navigate the multilayer aspects here of how China has changed, how Israel has changed, how the Middle East is changing, how the world system is changing – and I think that’s the riddle to be solved," said Orion, who formerly served with the Israeli occupation forces. 

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He confirmed that the "honeymoon is certainly over" between the two but "the end of a honeymoon doesn’t mean divorce."

"Israel and China will not go into the same river twice," Orion says, especially after China condemned "Israel" after October 7 and its genocide in Gaza, angering the occupation after not condemning Iran for its strikes in April. 

China was one of the countries that called for a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis, demanding that "Israel" lift the blockade imposed on the Strip to ensure the entry of much-needed aid, respect international humanitarian law, and stop targeting all civilian objects and aid workers in Gaza.

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'Friendship isn't enough'

A survey conducted by INSS in April showed that 54% of Israelis saw China to be unfriendly or hostile toward them, while merely 15% considered it friendly. That revealed quite the dip since a 2019 poll from Pew Research Center showing 66% positively viewing China.

"As national security becomes much more dominant in both China and Israel, I think we need to navigate a more complicated environment", Orion continued. According to Orion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the ties with China a "marriage made in heaven" when a cooperation partnership in technology and innovation in 2017 was established. 

Moreover, trade between China and "Israel" witnessed a plunge of 7.4% last year compared with the previous year, partly due to the war on Gaza. Also, the China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation has not seen a meeting since their virtual meeting in 2022.

During the initial two months of 2023, "Israel" emerged as the third-largest destination for Chinese automobile exports. As of late last year, China-made vehicles accounted for 17.47% of all deliveries in the Israeli market, a substantial leap from the 4.8% in 2022.

Moreover, the number of Chinese tourists traveling to "Israel" fell from 156,000 annually in 2019 to almost 300 monthly now.

"I would say a balanced view by China would be, yes we want to see stability and security with the rights of the Palestinians and security of the Israelis," the expert states, claiming that China - without clear positions - cannot serve as a true mediator for the war on Gaza. 

He says that "friendship alone or being able to open channels alone are not enough... I don’t think China has the knowledge to go into the core issues: Jerusalem, borders, refugees", adding that "talking about peace is nice, but when you really need to carry the water, I don’t think China is there."

"Still, as there [is] evident need for reconstruction and infrastructure as part of peace efforts, China clearly has relevant capabilities, and could apply them, advancing stabilisation through development," he said.

"However, this will be only possible through good cooperation and coordination with the US, which currently seem out of reach."