 | |
 China |  Israel |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of China, Tel Aviv | Embassy of Israel, Beijing |
| Envoy | |
| AmbassadorCai Run | AmbassadorIrit Ben-Abba |
ThePeople's Republic of China (PRC) and theState of Israel formally established diplomatic relations in 1992.[1][2] While theRepublic of China hadde jurerecognized Israeli sovereignty in 1949, it eventually lost theChinese Civil War, bringing theChinese Communist Party (CCP) to power across mainland China. In 1950, Israel became the first country in theMiddle East to recognize the PRC as the sole government inmainland China,[3] but the CCP did not reciprocate by establishing diplomatic ties due to Israel's alignment with theWestern Bloc during theCold War. This discontent persisted until the Cold War came to a close with thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
China has become[as of?] Israel's second largest trading partner globally and its largest trading partner inEast Asia.[4][5][6] Bilateral trade volume increased from $50 million in 1992 to over $10 billion in 2013.[7][needs update] Israel has traded significantly with China in technology and arms.[8][9][10]
The relations between the two countries have been complicated by China's support for thePalestinians andIran, both involved inongoing conflicts with Israel, and thegeopolitical rivalry between China and theUnited States, Israel's primary security guarantor.[11] In theUnited Nations, China has long voted in support of theState of Palestine and against Israel.[12][13]
Israel maintains an embassy inBeijing and consulates-general inGuangzhou,Chengdu,Hong Kong, andShanghai, while China maintains an embassy inTel Aviv.
In the 1930s,David Ben-Gurion, then leader of theYishuv in Palestine, proclaimed that China would be one of the great world powers of the future.[14]
During the 1930s and 1940s, Shanghai was an importanthaven for Jewish refugees.[15]: 128 Along with the legacies of individuals such asHo Feng-Shan who protected Jews, this history continues to be a shared positive point of reference for contemporary relations between China and Israel.[15]: 128 Major Israeli officials including Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu have emphasized this history during visits to theShanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.[15]: 128
For some time after theChinese Communist Revolution in 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was diplomatically isolated, because theUnited States and its allies, including Israel, recognized theRepublic of China (ROC, commonly known asTaiwan after 1949) as the sole legitimate government of China. TheNationalist government of the ROC had been historically sympathetic to theZionist cause, while ROC founderSun Yat-sen affirmed his support for the creation of aJewish state.[16][17]
Before 1955, the People's Republic of China (PRC) did not have a stance on theArab-Israeli conflict.[18]: xxxiv-xxxv This was largely because the PRC had few diplomatic contacts with Israel and the independent Arab states recognized the ROC at the time and not the PRC.[18]: xxxiv–xxxv
During the 1955Bandung Conference, the PRC expressed support for thePalestinian right of return, but refrained from denying Israel'sright to exist and secretly pursued trade ties with the Israelis.[19] In January 1950, Israel formally recognized the PRC, becoming the first Middle Eastern state to do so.[15]: 126
During theSuez Crisis in 1956, China made strong statements insupport of Egypt but did not make references to Israel when it condemnedFrance andBritain.[18]: xxxvii
In 1975, the PRC supportedUnited Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 that stated that Zionism was a form of racism.[12] Until the 1980s, China refused to grantvisas to Israelis unless they helddual citizenship and carried a passport of a country other than Israel.[20] However, following theSino-Soviet split and China's 1979 establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States, China began to develop a series of secret, non-official ties with Israel.[21]
China and Israel secretly began building military ties in the 1980s during theSoviet–Afghan War, which both Israel and China opposed. They both supplied weapons to the Afghanmujahideen (Israel sending capturedPalestine Liberation Organization weapons via the United States andPakistan), and military cooperation between the two began in order to assist the Islamic resistance against the Soviets. China and Israel subsequently started exchanging visits of delegations of academics, experts, businessmen and industrialists.[20] Reportedly, a large number of theheavy tanks used in China's 1984National Day parades were retrofitted by Israel from capturedSix-Day War equipment.[21]
China eased travel restrictions, while Israel reopened itsconsulate inHong Kong (then underBritish administration), which would serve as the main point for diplomatic and economic contact between the two nations. In 1987 Israel's Prime Minister,Shimon Peres, appointedAmos Yudan to set up the first official Government owned company (Copeco Ltd[22]) to establish and foster commercial activities between companies in China and Israel. The company was active until 1992, when official diplomatic relationships were announced between Israel and China.[20] In the early 1990s, China joined a number of nations who established ties with Israel after the initiation of apeace process between Israel and the PLO in the early 1990s; it also desired to play a role in the peace process.
The two countries established full diplomatic relations in 1992.[15]: 127 Previously, Israel and China's representative offices inBeijing andTel Aviv functioned asde facto embassies. The Israeli office was formally known as the Liaison Office of theIsrael Academy of Sciences and Humanities.[23] This was opened in June 1990.[24] China was similarly represented by a branch of the China International Travel Service, which also opened in 1990.[25]
Zev Sufott, who had served in the liaison office of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Beijing beginning in 1991, was appointed as Israel's first Ambassador to China upon the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992.[26][27]
Early bilateral cooperation including establishing the Sino-Israeli Agricultural Training Center atChina Agricultural University.[15]: 127
In 2009,China Radio International (CRI) began broadcasting in Hebrew.[28] In addition, the Chinese established Chinese institutes in Israel, to public and media activities of Israel-based Chinese diplomats.[29]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited China in May 2013 and five agreements were signed during his visit. A government-to-government mechanism was established and five task forces were set up in high tech, environmental protection, energy, agriculture and financing.[7] Netanyahu visited China again in 2017 amid celebrations taking place to commemorate 25 years of ties between the two countries.[30]
During the2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, it was reported that Israel was winning the public opinion battle in China with most Chinese social media users siding with Israel.[31][32]
Starting in 2019,Chinese state-sponsored cyberespionage group UNC215 targeted Israeli government institutions, IT providers, and telecommunication firms in a series of attacks that attempted to disguise themselves as Iranian hackers.[33][34]
In May 2020, the Chinese ambassador to Israel,Du Wei, was found dead at his home inHerzliya. While the exact cause of his death is unknown, it is believed he died of natural causes.[35][36]
In November 2021, Israeli PresidentIsaac Herzog andChinese leader,CCP general secretaryXi Jinping held the first-ever phone call between heads of state of Israel and China. According to the read-out from theIsraeli President's Office, Herzog and Xi discussed opportunities to enhance Israeli-Chinese bilateral ties ahead of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, in honor of which Herzog and Xi invited each other to visit their respective countries.[37]
Multiple commentators have noted a worsening in relations between the two countries since theOctober 7 attacks.[38][39][40]
In 2025,Boaz Toporovsky led aKnesset delegation to Taiwan, the Chinese embassy in Israel objected strongly to the trip labeling Toporovsky a 'trouble-maker' and saying that such trips endanger the foundations of Israel-China relations.[41] The statement also accused Toporovsky of violating theOne China principle and said that "If he is not restrained, he will fall and shatter into pieces on the edge of the abyss."[42] The statement also threatened Toporovsky, saying that he should “not delude himself that he can harm China’s core interests... without paying a price.”[43] Ambassador Xiao Junzheng amplified the message by sharing it on social media.[44] The Embassy later denied that it had threated Toporovsky claiming that it had instead used a “popular Chinese saying.” In October 2025 the Chinese embassy in Israel held a public presentation about the “Taiwan Question” for the first time, reiterating their strong anti-Taiwan position.[43]
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Israel and China began military-to-military relations as early as the 1980s, even though no formal diplomatic relations existed.[45][20][46] Before diplomatic relations were established in 1992 Israel had been selling arms to China. The use of military sales as a means of achieving foreign-policy goals was neither new nor unprecedented in Israeli foreign policy to promote its interests. Israel sold technology to upgrade Chinese tanks and planes in the 1980s.IAI Lavi andunmanned aerial vehicle technology seems to have been sold to China. Expertise in fitting western equipment in Soviet made hardware helped in modernization of Chinese army and air force, this way Chinese defense modernization complemented Israel's need of cash to fund its domestic made high-tech weapons programs.[47]
The arms embargo imposed by Western countries on China after the1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre offered an additional incentive for military relations and bilateral cooperation as a whole.[15]: 128 Sanctions imposed by Western countries almost froze Chinese access to advanced military and dual-use technologies. Israel then sought to benefit from the situation and became China's backdoor for acquiring Western technology.[48]
Israel was ready to sell China theEL/M-2075 Phalcon, an Israeli airborne early-warning radar system (AWACS), until the United States forced it to cancel the deal.[49] Some estimate that Israel sold arms worth US$4 billion to China in this period.[45][20]
China had looked to Israel for the arms and military technology it could not acquire from the United States, Europe and Russia.[50] China is a vital market for Israel's aerospace and defense industry.[45]
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency compiled evidence that Israel had transferred missile, laser and aircraft technology to China in the 1990s. On 19 October 1999, the Defense Minister of China,Chi Haotian, flew to Israel and met withEhud Barak, then-Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Israel. They reached several high-level agreements, including a $1 billion Israeli-Russian sale of military aircraft to China.[51] On 25 May 2011, the Commander of thePeople's Liberation Army Navy, AdmiralWu Shengli, made an official visit to Israel, meeting with Barak and Rear AdmiralEliezer Marom.[52]
On 14 August 2011, GeneralChen Bingde, Chief of thePeople's Liberation Army General Staff Department, made an official visit to Israel.[53] He came a guest of theIsraeli Chief of StaffBenny Gantz, who received him with an honor guard at theKirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.[54] The visit came after Defense Minister Ehud Barak's visit to China in June,[53] the first visit of a defense minister to the country in a decade. Bingde's visit was part of a tour that included stops in Russia andUkraine.[54]
On 13 August 2012, vessels from the People's Liberation Army Navy's 11th escort fleet, led by Rear Admiral Yang Jun-fei, anchored at Israel'sHaifa naval base for a four-day goodwill visit to mark 20 years of cooperation between theIsrael Defense Forces and the PLA.[55][56] The vessels and crewmen were welcomed by the Haifa base commander, Brigadier General Eli Sharvit,[56] and Chinese embassy officials.[55] In July 2018, 180 acres of the Northern port in Haifa were transferred to the state-ownedShanghai International Port Group (SIPG) for a 25-year period of management. This sparked a heated discussion in the Israeli press and the academy, as well as a special discussion by the Israeli cabinet. It also came up in discussions between US National Security AdvisorJohn Bolton and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu when they met on January 7, 2019.[57]
In 2025, theMinistry of Defense prohibited the use of certainBYD electric cars due to cyber-espionage concerns of unauthorized transmission of data to China.[58]
China is Israel's largest East Asian trading partner and has sought Israel's expertise in solar energy, manufacturing robotics, irrigation, construction, agricultural and water management anddesalination technologies to combat drought and water shortages.[59][20][60]
Since the 2010s, China and Israel enhanced bilateral economic ties with China connecting both Chinese and Israeli businessmen and investors to invest in each other's economies respectively. Chinese economic cooperation with Israel has seen substantial Chinese investment of more than US$15 billion in the Israeli economy, spawning seed capital in Israeli startup companies, as well as the acquisition of Israeli companies by major Chinese corporations that incorporate Israel's know how to help invigorate the development of the modern Chinese economy more efficiently. China ranked second in 2015 after the United States on collaboration with Israeli high-tech firms that are backed by Israel's Office of the Chief Scientist.[61] Major Chinese firms such as Fosun,ChemChina, Brightfood, Horizons Ventures and China Everbright have invested significant amounts of financial capital and resources across numerous Israeli industries.[62]
Investment from China in Israeli technology reached an aggregate of $15 billion from 2011 to 2017 with the surplus of Chinese investment capital finding its way through Israel's high technology sector, including agriculture, pharmaceutical, medical devices, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving.[63][better source needed]
On 3 July 2011, Israel and the People's Republic of China signed an economic cooperation agreement to boost trade between the two countries. According to Eliran Elimelech, Israel's commercial attaché in Beijing, the agreement was expected to deepen ties between Israeli and Chinese businessmen in the short term, and in the medium to long term to improve trade conditions between the countries. In January 2011, theIsraeli Central Bureau of Statistics stated that Israeli exports to China had grown by an annual 95 percent in 2010 to $2 billion.[64] In September 2011, the Israeli Minister of Transport,Israel Katz, stated that China and Israel were discussing the construction of ahigh-speed rail link joining theMediterranean Sea with theRed Sea. This joint project would permit the mass overland transport of Chinese goods to Israel andEastern Europe, and would involve both Chinese and Israeli railway developers.[65] The following month, the Chinese and Israeli governments signed amemorandum of understanding regarding the joint construction of a 180-km (112-mile) railway linking the Israeli city ofEilat with theNegev Desert's Zin Valley,Beersheba, and Tel Aviv.[66]
In August 2012, with Chinese-Israeli trade growing, theBeijing University of International Business and Economics in Beijing set up a department dedicated to studying Israeli economics andJudaism, while some Chinese universities began offeringHebrew courses.[67] The group SIGNAL has established an exchange network of Chinese and Israeli scholars and academics to help them collaborate with each other on various academic projects.[68]
In 2013, China and Israel began to boost the economic relations with respect to agriculture.[69] The two countries decided to set up an agriculture technology incubator in Anhui Province, China enabling joint development of agriculture technologies and solutions in keeping with requirements on the ground. Israeli agriculture trade fairs such as Agrivest and AgriTech have witnessed large Chinese delegations and greater participation from Chinese state-owned enterprises and private companies as Chinese's growing middle class and increasing consumer demand as well as increased pressure on agricultural land has prompted the East Asian giant to increasingly look at Israeli agriculture technology to boost crop yields and dairy production.[69][70]Horizons Ventures, a venture capital firm established by Hong Kong business magnateLi Ka-shing, led a US$10.8 million strategic investment in Windward, an Israeli maritime data and analytics company. MarInt, Windward's satellite maritime analytics system, is widely used by many security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies across the world.[71] In 2013, Li donated US$130 million to Technion. A large part of the money came from the profits he made from the IPO ofWaze, an Israeli GPS-based map software company, in which he held an 11 percent stake that eventually acquired byGoogle.[72] His was the largest donation ever made to Technion and one of the biggest to any Israeli academic institution. Li has been the pioneer of Chinese investment in Israel.[71][72]
Bilateral trade between the two nations increased from $50 million to $10 billion in 2013.[5] Since 2013, Chinese investors have begun to show a growing interest in Israeli firms.[73] Recent high end deals include Beijing winning a $2 billion tender to build the "Med-Red" railway linking Ashdod port with Eilat as well as a $1 billion Israeli port tender, a $300 million joint research center between Tel Aviv University and Tsinghua University, HK billionaire Li Ka-shing donating $130 million toTechnion in return for building a technology school in Guangdong,[74] and Chinese acquisition of a controlling stake in Israel'sTnuva dairy company for more than US$1 billion.[75] The acquisition of Tnuva was the biggest Chinese buyout of an Israeli company since 2011 when state-owned ChemChina boughtAdama, the pesticides and crop protection company then known as Makhteshim Agan, for US$2.4 billion.[76] In 2014, Chinese-Israeli tech deals totaled $300 million, up from $50 million in 2013, according to Israel's National Economic Council.[77]
Bilateral between the two countries reached in excess of $10 billion in trade since the start of 2015.[78] In January 2015, a number of Chinese information technology companies began to make investments in Israel, Chinese e-commerce giantAlibaba invested an undisclosed sum in Visualead, an Israeli company specializing in QR code technology. Alibaba has also invested in Israel-based venture fundJerusalem Venture Partners, becoming a limited partner joiningQihoo 360, another Chinese web company to have invested in the Jerusalem-based fund.[77]Baidu, China's largest search engine, has put US$3 million intoPixellot, an Israeli video capture start-up and provided funds to Carmel Ventures, an Israeli venture capital firm as well as lead a $5 million investment round in the Israeli music education firmTonara.[76] In addition, leading Chinese technology firms such asHuawei,Legend andXiaomi have set up R&D centers in Israel.[79] In March 2015, Israel joined China's newly constitutedAsian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).[80][81]
Israel and China began negotiating afree trade agreement in 2019.[82]: 176 The discussions coincided with China's beginning of free trade agreement negotiations with Palestine.[82] According to academic Dawn C. Murphy, China likely proceeded concurrently with both countries in order to avoid perceptions of favoritism.[82]
Al Jazeera reported in 2025 that China including Hong Kong is the second largest importer of Israeli goods ($4.8 billion) and the largest exporter ($19 billion) country to Israel.[6]
Following theOctober 7 attacks, commentators generally note a worsening in relations between the two countries.[38][39] In 2024, public opinion polling showed a majority of Israelis consider China to be unfriendly or hostile toward Israel,[83] although data from thePew Research Center found a sharp difference between Jewish andArab Israelis in how they saw the East Asian country.[84]
Israel's increasing defense cooperation with China has caused concern in Western nations, particularly the United States, which is the largest foreign supplier of military equipment to Israel. Owing to strategic Chinese rivalry with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, India and Vietnam, as well as concerns over the security of Taiwan, the United States has pressured Israel against selling sophisticated equipment and technology to China.[46] In 1992,The Washington Times alleged that exported AmericanPatriot missiles and Israel's indigenousLavi jet aircraft technology had been shared with China, although official U.S. investigations did not substantiate these charges.[85] In 2000, Israel cancelled the sale to China of the Israeli-builtPhalcon Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) in the wake of pressure from the U.S., which threatened to cut off US$2.8 billion in yearly aid if the deal went through.[86] Israel's decision drew condemnation from China, which stated that the cancellation would hurt bilateral ties.[86] China's record of proliferating arms and weapons systems has also concerned U.S. planners, as the U.S. worries that China may repackage advanced Israeli defense technologies for resale to America's rivals and nations hostile to it throughout the world.[87]
Chinese involvement in the Israeli technology sector has also generated security concerns. The former head ofMossad,Efraim Halevy, is one of the major critics in Israel who believes that the country should examine thegeopolitical considerations with China and has consistently warned the Israeli government against involving the Chinese in a proposedhigh-speed railway to Eilat, arguing that it could lead to a crisis in strategic relations with the United States.[88] Other critics argue that growing Chinese involvement will endanger Israeli security and lead to theft of Israeli technology to be utilized inChinese espionage further arguing that Israel should balance its burgeoning relations with China with maintaining a balance of relations with the United States at the same time.[89][90]
Since 1992, Israel has followed theone China principle, and recognizesgovernment of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government representing the whole of China and Taiwan as "an inalienable part" of China.[91]
In August 2022,Liu Jianchao warned the Israeli ambassador to China,Irit Ben-Abba, against taking the U.S. position on thepersecution of Uyghurs in China.[92]
In 2010, theUnited Nations Security Council passedResolution 1929, imposing a fourth round ofinternational sanctions against Iran for itsnuclear enrichment program. China ultimately supported this resolution, although initially, due to the strong bilateral relations and nuclear cooperation between theChina and Iran, China opposed the sanctions. According toThe New York Times, Israel lobbied for the sanctions by explaining to China the impact of any pre-emptive strike on Iran would have on the world oil supply, and hence on the Chinese economy.[93]
In June 2025, China's ambassador to the UN,Fu Cong, condemnedIsraeli strikes on Iran[94] whileWang Yi referred to Israel's strikes as "unacceptable".[95] On 2 July 2025, Israel urged China to pressure Iran to restrain itsnuclear ambitions.[96]
Publishing in 2025, academic Chuchu Zhang writes that China seeks to balance its approaches with Israel and Palestine, providing rhetorical support for Palestine and some criticism of Israel, but avoiding committing resources to Palestine that could jeopardize China's economic relationship with Israel.[15]: 47
China's then Foreign MinisterLi Zhaoxing called the Israeli West Bank barrier wall an obstacle to peace in a September 2006 statement during a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East. In November 2008, then China Ambassador to the United StatesYesui Zhang stated that the "continued construction ofsettlements on the West Bank is not only in violation of Israel's obligations under international law, but is also detrimental to guaranteeing Israel's own security." According to analysis from theJamestown Foundation, China's policy on Israel and Palestine is based on soft power diplomacy, and maintain a balancing act between its Israeli and Arab world ties.[87] On June 8, 2015, China demanded Israel to refrain from utilizing Chinese migrant construction workers in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. China sought this ban out of concern for the Chinese workers' safety in areas beyond the Green Line, which marks Israel's pre-1967 borders. The government of Israel has been eager to negotiate a deal with China completed in the hope that an influx of foreign workers will increase the rate of housing construction in Israel and reduce the costs of new homes.[97]
After the victory of Hamas in the 2006 elections in Gaza, China acknowledged Hamas as the legitimately elected political entity in the Gaza Strip despite Israeli and U.S. opposition. The Chinese government met with senior Hamas representativeMahmoud al-Zahar, who previously served as Palestinian foreign minister, during the June 2006China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing which held direct bilateral talks despite protests from Israel and the United States. A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that "the Palestinian government is legally elected by the people there and it should be respected."[87] Besides the Chinese recognition of Hamas, China also does not designateHezbollah as a terrorist organization.[98]
After the May 31,2010 Gaza flotilla raid the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesmanMa Zhaoxu condemned Israel.[99] On April 28, 2011, after the rival Palestinian factionsFatah and Hamas formed a national unity government, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that China welcomed the internal reconciliation.[100] During the November 2012Operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaza Strip, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China urged all sides to display restraint.[101]
In 2012, the families of eight Israeli terror victims of the 2008Mercaz HaRav massacre in Jerusalem filed a$1 billion lawsuit against theBank of China. The suit asserted that in 2003 the bank's New York branch wired millions of dollars to Hamas from its leadership inSyria andIran. The Bank of China subsequently denied providing banking services to terrorist groups: "The Bank of China has always strictly followed the UN's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing requirements and regulations in China and other judicial areas where we operate."[102][103] The case was dismissed in 2015.[104]
On July 23, 2014, China was among the 29 nations who voted in favor of the investigation by the United Nations Human Rights Council of war crimes committed by Israel duringOperation Protective Edge, with the United States being the only nation in dissent.[105] In addition, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei earlier on 9 July 2014 issued a statement in response to the violence during the military operation, stating: "We believe that to resort to force and to counter violence with violence will not help resolve problems other than pile up more hatred. We urge relevant parties to bear in mind the broader picture of peace and the lives of the people, immediately realize a ceasefire, stick to the strategic choice of peace talks and strive for an early resumption of talks."[106] In July 2017, Chinese leader Xi Jinping delivered a formalization of China's positions in his "Four Points" on the "issue of Israel-Palestine conflict", the first of which was that China supported the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestine within the framework of thetwo-state solution based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.[107]
In May 2021, Israel's embassy in Beijing accused Chinesestate media outletChina Global Television Network of "blatantantisemitism" when host Zheng Junfeng broadcast a segment accusing US policy on Israel of being influenced by wealthy Jews, during the2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.[108][109]
Following the 2023Hamas-led attack on Israel, an Israeli embassy official said Israel expected to see a "stronger condemnation" ofHamas and that it was "not the time to call for a two-state solution" when people were "being murdered, slaughtered in the streets."[110][111] The IsraeliMinistry of Foreign Affairs later expressed "deep disappointment" over China not condemning Hamas.[112] Commentary in Chinese state media and social media blamed the U.S. for the conflict and spreadantisemitic tropes against Israel.[113][114][115][116] Some people equated Israel's actions to Nazism by accusing them of committinggenocide on Palestinians, prompting a rebuke from the German embassy in Beijing.[117] Chinese foreign ministerWang Yi stated that in Gaza, "Israel’s actions have gone beyond self-defense."[118] In January 2024, Israel reported that it discovered a "massive" stockpile of Chinese weaponry used by Hamas.[119]
Chinese suppliers as of December 2023 have created bureaucratic obstacles for Israeli tech factories, delaying shipments of electronic components to Israel for civilian and military use.[120] The Chinese government, according to Israeli officials, has refused to send workers to Israel during the war.[121] Chinese shipping companiesCOSCO andOOCL have suspended trade with Israel as early as 18 December 2023,[122] sparking concerns by Israeli analysts that the Bayport terminal run by the state-owned Shanghai International Port Group in thePort of Haifa is a security risk.[123]
On the first anniversary of the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel,Xinhua News Agency criticized U.S. diplomatic and military support for Israel.[124] The Chinese government'sSpamouflage influence operation has also criticized U.S. support for Israel and spread antisemitic tropes online.[125][126][124][127]
In September 2025, Benjamin Netanyahu accused the PRC, along withQatar of orchestrating and leading a propaganda campaign to politically "besiege" Israel by undermining its global support, particularly in Western media and among allies.[128][129]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Israel and China today signed a cooperation agreement that aims to boost trade between the two countries.
Jewish Israelis (25%) have much less favorable views of China than Arab Israelis do (61%).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Despite having built a solid relationship with Israel since the 1990s, China's history as a leader of the non-aligned world has always made it a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause. China does not officially designate Hezbollah or Hamas as terrorist organisations.
Anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric has become prevalent on China's insular social media in recent years, in part because of Israel's close association with the U.S. and the West.
One side effect is an uptick in antisemitism online, fanned by nationalist bloggers. Some on Chinese social media have equated Israel's actions to Nazism by accusing them of carrying out a genocide on Palestinians, prompting a rebuke from the German embassy in Beijing.
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