Why has China turned against Israel?  - opinion

In the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, there was an outpouring of support around the world for Israel. Even countries that did not have particularly close relations with the Jewish state nonetheless saw fit to denounce the savagery of the massacre perpetrated by Palestinians.

But there was one glaring exception to the chorus that stood out with surprising diffidence, which quickly descended into hostility: the People’s Republic of China.

The day after Hamas invaded southern Israel, burned alive entire families, and kidnapped children and Holocaust survivors, the government in Beijing issued a bland statement that called on all parties to “remain calm and exercise restraint.” There was not a word of condemnation for Hamas nor its murderous rampage, nor even an affirmation of Israel’s right to defend itself.

Instead, Chinese officials began almost daily calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

And as the IDF began its military operations in Gaza, China’s criticism quickly took on a harsher tone, accusing Israel of “collective punishment” and demanding an immediate ceasefire.

Beijing also referred to the Israelis held hostage in Gaza as “detained civilians,” and frequently lumped them together with Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons, as though there was a moral equivalence between the two.

On February 22, Ma Xinmin, director-general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Department of Treaty and Law, went a step further. In remarks delivered at the International Court of Justice, he asserted that the Palestinians had every right to engage in “armed struggle” against Israel, calling such violence “just actions.”

“In pursuit of the right to self-determination,” he insisted, “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.”

China has also hosted a delegation from Hamas and attempted to broker an agreement between them and the Palestinian Authority.

And in mid-April, when Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, Beijing described the attack as “self-defense.”

Chinese antisemitism

NO LESS troubling are reports that antisemitism has surged on Chinese social media which, of course, is largely government-controlled and censored.

According to a January report by the Brookings Institution, there is even a conspiracy theory known as “Project Pufferfish” that “alleges a Jewish plot in conjunction with Imperial Japan to settle northeastern China” that has “gained traction” among the Chinese.

On January 22, Aaron Keyak, the Biden administration’s Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, delivered a speech to the American Bar Association in which he highlighted the worrisome growth of online antisemitic rhetoric in China.

“I have particular concern,” he stated, “that since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, there’s been an increase in the People’s Republic of China’s state media and online discourse of antisemitic tropes that Jews control the United States through deep US-Israel ties, as well as control over banks, the media, and that they have influence over government leaders.”

CHINA’S STANCE since Oct. 7 seems to be in sharp contrast to the steady warming of bilateral relations that had been taking place prior to the Hamas attacks.

Just last year, on June 27, 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed to a visiting delegation of US congressmen that he had received an official invitation to Beijing.

Economic ties had been flourishing, with trade between the two countries soaring from $50 million in 1992 to $17.6 billion in 2022. China had been taking what many described as a more balanced approach to the Middle East than in the past.

But that balance has clearly given way to Chinese antagonism toward Israel.

Theories abound as to what lies behind this shift, which has been anything but subtle or measured.

China appears to be positioning itself as a geopolitical competitor with the US and is seeking to undermine American influence in various parts of the globe, with the Middle East being no exception.

In March 2023, Beijing stunned the world when it succeeded in brokering a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia that led to the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The move underlined China’s efforts to insert itself into the region as a major player, with Beijing having an important economic role in the area. Chinese trade with Arab countries soared to $330 billion in 2021, and China gets most of its oil from the Middle East.

Having strengthened its relations with Russia and Iran, China has staked out a position in direct opposition to US interests, effectively linking itself to the “axis of resistance” that has been formed.

With Israel seen as an ally of America, the Chinese regime has made an unambiguous choice to bolster its ties with Arab and Muslim states at the expense of its relations with Jerusalem.

This was on display most recently at a summit of Arab leaders hosted in Beijing to strengthen cooperation. On May 30, according to CNN, China and delegates from 22 Arab countries “adopted a strident joint statement condemning Israel’s ‘aggression against the Palestinian people,’” using “some of China’s most pointed language to date on the conflict.”

How Israel chooses to respond to this marked change in Chinese policy remains to be seen. But it cannot be allowed to pass without a response, which could include taking steps to strengthen ties with Taiwan, as well as restricting Chinese investment in key Israeli infrastructure projects.

If China has chosen sides and is determined to stand with Israel’s foes, then it may very well leave the Jewish state with little choice but to do the same with China’s foes.  

The writer served as deputy communications director under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.