China's Middle East Gambit

Decision Points

Over the past two decades, China has increasingly challenged America’s economic and political influence in the Middle East, including in Israel. At the same time, Washington remains Jerusalem’s strongest ally and patron, which raises questions about how the U.S. relationship affects Israel’s policies toward Beijing. On one hand, Chinese investment is enticing—large-scale infrastructure projects at low cost. On the other hand, Israel needs to be mindful of Chinese influence given Beijing’s competition with the United States and growing ties with Iran.

In this episode, Assaf Orion and Michael Singh join host David Makovsky to discuss where Israel draws the line with China, and what implications this line holds for relations with Washington.

Brig. Gen. Assaf Orion, IDF (Ret.), is a defense strategist whose broad research ranges from China’s foreign relations to Israel’s regional political-military strategy. He is currently the Rueven International Fellow with The Washington Institute.

Michael Singh is the Institute’s Lane-Swig Senior Fellow and managing director. Previously, he served as senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council.

Audio clips from i24News “The Growing Israel-China Economic Partnership”

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