61. Israel and China Take a Leap Forward—but to Where?
- Author:
- Arthur Herman
- Publication Date:
- 11-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Hudson Institute
- Abstract:
- There is certainly no denying that, in terms of trade and investment alone, the burgeoning economic partnership between Israel and China has at least the potential of transforming not only Israel itself but also Israel’s position vis-à-vis the rest of the Middle East—and most notably vis-à-vis Iran, which happens to be Beijing’s other key partner in the region. Inevitably, it could also have an impact on Israel’s relations with the United States. But is this a marriage made in heaven? Or is it something else? Weighing the answer to that question involves probing beneath the two countries’ currently successful dynamic of trade and commercial transactions to their respective geopolitical agendas. When it comes to Israel, the acknowledged junior partner, it also requires examining whether and how the relationship with China could become a dependency. Such a change might please Beijing, but it would impose on Israeli national security a new kind of vulnerability, one very different from the challenges it has faced successfully in the past.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, National Security, Bilateral Relations, Partnerships, Geopolitics, and Economy
- Political Geography:
- China, Middle East, Israel, and Asia