Concerned US presses “Israel” on Chinese investments
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A Trump-"Israel" feud spilled into "Israel's" relationship with Biden over China's investments - and an undisclosed meeting was held recently about it.
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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and US President Joe Biden in Washington
Last month, the Biden administration and the Israeli occupation held low-key talks on China, a sensitive topic given American concerns about Chinese investments in “Israel”.
The meeting on Dec. 14 was the first wide-ranging consultation between the Israeli occupation and the US since President Biden took office, and it was led by deputy national security advisers from both sides. Fearing a backlash from Beijing, the Israeli side attempted to keep it as low-key as possible.
Here’s what you need to know
Over the last decade, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to strengthen ties with China and solicit Chinese investment in “Israel's” infrastructure and technology industries.
Chinese involvement in projects like the new Haifa port became a rare source of friction between Netanyahu's government and Trump's administration.
The new Israeli government has recently claimed that it will pay more attention to US concerns and approach China through a national security lens.
US or China
While visiting “Israel”, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has recently brought up some of the same issues with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
Two Israeli officials stressed Sullivan focused on Chinese involvement in infrastructure projects, and on the need to form a unified front on China.
Foreign Ministry officials informed “Israel's” Security Cabinet on Sunday that the Biden administration was intensifying pressure on Israel and other countries to choose sides between the US and China, according to two Israeli officials who attended the discussion.
According to a senior Israeli official, the Israeli government is torn between maintaining a balancing act in order to retain trade links with China and more actively side with the United States.
“We have no dilemma about who is our most important ally and we are more mindful about U.S. concerns and more transparent than we were in the past. But we are not going to avoid doing things with China that the U.S. is not avoiding," the senior Israeli official said.
