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\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA senior-level delegation from the Israeli National Security Council visited Washington in mid-April to meet with counterparts in the Trump administration. Discussions between the two sides, led by the president’s National Security Advisor John Bolton and the Israeli NSC’s Director, Meir Ben-Shabbat, focused on Israel’s relations with China. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn a tweet following the meeting, Bolton praised the discussions, which, he noted, dealt with increasing US–Israel cooperation to secure 5G networks, cyber security and countering malign actors in the Middle East. Bolton’s positive tone hides the dilemmas that US policymakers face in addressing the growing divergence between the two allies over China policy. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLast month at the White House, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an earful from President Donald Trump regarding Israel’s expanding ties with China. Trump reportedly told Netanyahu that, if Israel did not limit its ties with China, security cooperation between the US and Israel would be negatively impacted. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBoth Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have this year raised American concerns about Israeli cooperation with China, with Pompeo publicly stating that if it continues, US–Israel intelligence-sharing might have to be reduced. Whether such threats carry weight with Netanyahu remains unclear. But, perhaps more significantly, there is a growing consensus within Israel’s security circles that the trajectory of its relationship with China needs to be altered.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLongstanding source of tension\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMany American and Israeli security experts assess that China is playing a worrisome role in the information technology elements of key strategic security infrastructure projects in Israel, in particular a scheme to upgrade and manage the port of Haifa, which for decades has been home to the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet operations. There are also concerns around several 5G telecommunications infrastructure projects won by Chinese companies, including Huawei (which also bought two Israeli companies, one of which serves as a Huawei development centre).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is not the first time that close ties between US and Israeli governments have been put under pressure by proposed Israeli deals with China. In the late 1990s, the Clinton administration warned Israel that if it did not walk back on a deal to sell its \u003c/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePhalcon\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e airborne early warning and control system to China, it would suffer harsh consequences. In 2000, Prime Minister Ehud Barak cancelled the deal, to the anger of the Chinese government. During George W. Bush’s first term, a similar episode occurred in which an Israel–China deal to sell \u003cem\u003eHarpy\u003c/em\u003e surveillance aircraft was cancelled by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2004 due to strong US pressure. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChina\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e’s growing commercial presence\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChinese companies began buying major Israeli companies – such as its biggest dairy products company, Tnuva, and one of its major pesticides companies, now trading as \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eADAMA Agricultural Solutions \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e– nearly a decade ago. In 2016, China was on the verge of acquiring the Phoenix Insurance Company, which manages the pension funds of many Israelis, but the deal was cancelled at the last minute. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut Israel’s tech sector has seen the highest levels of Chinese investment, particularly since it has become more difficult for Chinese tech companies to invest into the US market. Some US observers believe that China has bought into perhaps as much as 25% of Israel’s technological sector over the past decade.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe US is concerned about this growing Chinese presence and fears that Beijing might gain access to significant proprietary technologies. These concerns are finding increased traction among Israeli security experts. In January 2019, Nadav Argaman, head of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, reportedly said in a closed lecture at Tel Aviv University that the massive infiltration of Chinese companies could endanger Israel\u0027s security. The former head of Mossad, Efraim Halevy, is also among those who are warning of a Chinese ‘\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003einfiltration\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e’. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eResponding to both domestic and US pressure, Israel is considering cancelling some of the deals. Some fear that China might retaliate, potentially in the form of increased military and intelligence assistance to Iran. But others cite increasing ties between China and key anti-Iranian powers in the region, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE, highlighted by China’s recently announced US$3.4 billion investment deal in the UAE.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWalking a fine line\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe overall volume of Israel–China trade has expanded dramatically in the last two years, as Israeli companies have begun to invest in the Chinese market to a much greater extent than before. Israel, like most US allies, believes that it will be able to walk the fine line between responsiveness to US security concerns and continuing to build commercial ties with China. Senior Israeli officials were \u003ca href=\u0022https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-said-to-warn-pm-security-ties-could-suffer-due-to-israel-china-relations/\u0022\u003equoted\u003c/a\u003e last month as saying that ‘while Netanyahu would have no problem preventing Chinese companies from participating in government tenders for telecommunications, he would be hard-pressed to cancel a tender for building a port in Haifa, since the Chinese company that won it has already begun the construction work.’\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIsrael is moving to create a mechanism like the US Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews the national security implications of major foreign investments and has recently been strengthened by joint executive/congressional action. China is not specifically mentioned in this pending legislation, but the draft law is primarily designed to curb its influence. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\u0022Body\u0022\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe talks in Washington in mid-April were a first step in a new phase of bilateral dialogue aimed at settling differences on this issue. Israel, like other US allies in Europe and Asia, has been dragged into the American–Chinese great power rivalry. It will attempt to minimise the damage to its relationship with Beijing, but appears confident enough of its ties to China that it looks willing to cancel or dramatically alter some of the deals and agreements it has signed.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","className":"richtext reading--content font-secondary"}), document.getElementById("react_io71aLxUgESZjFMzry9hjg"))});
\u003cp class=\"Body\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIsrael and the United States are aligned on almost every issue, except for one main sticking point – China. The role it plays in key Israeli infrastructure projects is causing concern among security experts, but should Israel seek to roll back its commitments?\u003c/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e
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