China has no interest in saving relations with Israel

There is a growing trend worldwide where countries are becoming increasingly reliant on China for their economies and the US for their security.

Unsurprisingly, this has put many countries between a rock and a hard place. Unwilling to pick a side in the great power rivalry between China and the US, these countries are content to stand on the sidelines.

Israel is not one of these countries. Surrounded by countries whose citizens are overwhelmingly hostile to Israel, and fighting a “seven-front war”, Israel has to prioritize national security over economy, which means putting all its eggs in the American basket.

First, China is in no position to fill the US’s shoes in the Middle East. The US’s unequivocal support for Israel stems from their “special relationship.” China, on the other hand, does not share this “special relationship” and has no impulse to defend Israel.

While China would no doubt be interested in having an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” in the Middle East, as the US does, it is still way down on Beijing’s to-do list. For now, China’s priority remains in East Asia, namely taking back Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province that needs to be “reunified” with the mainland.

Aside from geopolitics, there is also the fact that, because of China’s political system and its lack of a Jewish diaspora, China is not susceptible to Israeli influence. And even if China were willing to defend Israel, it is in no position to do so. Following the US’s “pivot to Asia” in 2012, the geopolitical stranglehold on China has become tighter and tighter.

Japan, India, Australia and others have all jumped on board to contain China. Consequently, despite becoming the largest navy in the world in terms of numbers, China is far from