Facing the mainstream, big picture, and normalcy of China-Israel relations

On July 9, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Israel made a statement on its official WeChat account, addressing the recent erroneous words and actions involving Taiwan by a member of Israel’s Yesh Atid party. The spokesperson pointed out that a certain member of Yesh Atid visited China’s Taiwan and met with the so-called “vice president” and “foreign minister.” After returning to Israel, the individual interacted and praised the relevant personnel from Taiwan on social media platforms, extensively discussed his visit in Israeli media, and openly referred to Taiwan as a “country.” These words and actions “seriously violate the One-China Principle, severely undermine the political foundation of China-Israel relations, and gravely poison the atmosphere of friendly and pragmatic cooperation between China and Israel. The Chinese Embassy in Israel firmly opposes and strongly condemns this, has lodged stern representations with the Israeli side, and demanded the immediate correction of the wrongful practices and elimination of the adverse impact.”

It is understood that at the end of April this year, Boaz Toporovsky, a member of the opposition Yesh Atid party, led a parliamentary delegation to visit Taiwan. At the end of May, a higher-level delegation composed of several other parties also visited Taiwan. The Taiwanese authorities’ top two leaders successively met with both Israeli parliamentary groups. Toporovsky is a descendant of Eastern European Jewish immigrants born in Israel. Possibly due to his role as the head of the “Taiwan-Israel Friendship Parliamentary Group,” he already visited Taiwan in 2024. After his recent return from Taiwan, Toporovsky continued to interact with relevant Taiwanese figures on social media, supported the pro-Taiwan independence forces, created obstacles for China-Israel relations, and drew attention from media outlets like Israel Today and The Jerusalem Post.

The Chinese Embassy in Israel rarely makes statements on Taiwan-related matters, and the use of the “three serious violations” to describe Toporovsky’s erroneous words and actions is very rare in the 33 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Israel, clearly showing that he has crossed the red line of the One-China Principle and caused friction and noise in China-Israel relations. Observers have also noted that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not summon the newly appointed Israeli ambassador to China for negotiations, indicating that the erroneous words and actions of individual Israeli lawmakers do not represent the official position of Israel. Therefore, it is appropriate and suitable for the Chinese Embassy in Israel to issue condemnation and warnings.

In fact, Toporovsky’s manipulation does not reflect the big picture, mainstream, or normalcy of China-Israel friendly relations and should not be exaggerated. However, in diplomacy, there are no small matters, and the One-China Principle is a core issue concerning China’s vital interests. At a time when the world is focused on the long-delayed sixth Middle East war, this discord and deviation in the friendly and pragmatic cooperation between China and Israel should not be taken lightly. It reflects the complex internal political spectrum of Israel and highlights the spillover effects of this war — that Israel, facing international pressure and media isolation, is eager for external sympathy and support. Some politicians are even willing to lose the watermelon for a sesame seed. In short, the Taiwan-related crisis in China-Israel relations is an overblown “storm in a teacup,” but if allowed to escalate, it will inevitably become a new variable that harms China-Israel relations.

Firstly, since its founding, regardless of which party is in power and regardless of left or right stance, Israeli leaders have always adhered to the One-China position with foresight and strategic vision. During the long Cold War period, even though China’s diplomacy overwhelmingly supported the Arab world, Israel — as an “international orphan” — never established any form of diplomatic relations with the Taiwanese authorities despite close exchanges. When China and Israel established diplomatic relations 33 years ago, the two sides had no historical baggage, especially not the difficult negotiations and painful choices that other countries faced when cutting ties with Taiwan to establish relations with China.

The reason lies in the fact that successive Israeli leaders have always clearly understood who the real legitimate representative of all Chinese people is, and the Israeli people have always appreciated the tolerance and generosity shown by the Chinese people toward Jews throughout history. At the same time, although China has long put pressure on Israel regarding the Middle East issue, it has also consistently opposed the Arab bloc’s radical ideas of “eliminating Israel,” advocated distinguishing between Israel’s expansionist policies and the Israeli people, and respected Israel’s legitimate security concerns.

Secondly, Israel is a multi-party and immigrant country, long influenced by American and Western values. Different parties often hold varying or even conflicting foreign policy positions; conflict between the government and parliament, and fierce battles between ruling and opposition parties are the norm. Small parties hijacking large parties or ruling coalitions is a distinctive feature of Israel’s democratic politics. Therefore, even during smooth periods in China-Israel relations, oddities like interfering in China’s internal affairs or crossing China’s red lines are inevitable. For example, in 1999, Israeli Speaker of the Knesset Avraham Burg, on the eve of receiving the Chairman of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, still met with the Dalai Lama despite Chinese warnings and negotiations. As for Israel’s entirely liberalized media, it has never lacked voices criticizing China, although such voices are not the mainstream or dominant tone of Israeli public opinion.

Thirdly, Israel is the only country in the Western bloc that has genuinely withstood bipartisan pressure from the United States while maintaining a stable and friendly China policy. I have previously written an article analyzing this: despite enormous American interference with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Israel has continued to actively, flexibly, and pragmatically participate in building the Belt and Road with China, including never abandoning the dual-use Haifa Port project with the Chinese side. In 2022, China had already become Israel’s second-largest trading partner and the largest source of imported goods. Even though over the past year, Chinese and Israeli diplomats have frequently clashed in multilateral settings, both sides have exercised maximum restraint, keeping conflicts sporadic and controllable without affecting comprehensive cooperation and strategic mutual trust.

Fourthly, China-Israel relations are indeed being impacted by the “Sixth Middle East War.” Mutual public sentiment between the two countries has significantly declined, roughly hitting the lowest point since diplomatic ties were established. Objectively speaking, Israel has suffered a national humiliation and catastrophe akin to a “9/11”-style event, fallen into a “seven-front battlefield” situation, and has yet to end its “state of war.” Thus, the entire nation and society are in an unprecedented state of crisis. From politicians to the public, emotions are extremely tense, fragile, and sensitive. Overreactions and distortion in foreign responses are inevitable, including repeated transgressions in China-related matters. As the saying goes, “abnormal phenomena hide deeper issues.”

China adheres to international law, upholds fairness in the Middle East conflict, stands on the side of historical justice, and — based on its responsibilities and obligations as a major power — continues to criticize the Israeli government’s belligerence and inhumane actions, exerting an unprecedented level of pressure on Israeli society since normalization of bilateral relations. Additionally, China’s traditional media and online public opinion, driven by international justice and sympathy for the weak, have formed a public discourse unfavorable to Israel. This atmosphere has led to a rise in anti-China sentiment in Israeli society and has created fertile ground for some politicians to manipulate the Taiwan issue. In recent years, Israeli parties and politicians have clearly grown closer to Taiwan, suggesting a kind of mutual warming in troubled times.

Fifthly, although the Netanyahu government has become increasingly hardline and right-leaning on Middle East issues, it has always maintained a fundamentally friendly stance and policy line toward China. Not only has Netanyahu himself never publicly complained under China’s intense public opinion and diplomatic pressure, but other right-wing and far-right cabinet members have also rarely openly attacked China. Therefore, anti-China or pro-Taiwan remarks and actions by individual Israeli lawmakers or even officials should not be attributed to the Israeli government, nor should they be regarded as national policy or state behavior.

Sixthly, this storm is neither a deliberate pressure tactic jointly orchestrated by Israeli political circles — playing “good cop, bad cop” with China — nor a sign that the Yesh Atid party has collectively reversed its position. Those familiar with Israeli politics know that Yesh Atid is a centrist party with only 12 years of history and a longtime rival of Netanyahu’s Likud group. In 2021, it once united with seven other factions, including the United Right Alliance, to form the “eight-party ruling coalition,” which overthrew Netanyahu’s 12-year rule. After the coalition disintegrated in 2022, Yesh Atid initiated a no-confidence motion in parliament, triggering new elections. In June this year, as the opposition, Yesh Atid proposed another motion aiming to topple Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.

In early April 2022, Yair Lapid — the party leader of Yesh Atid, then foreign minister and incoming prime minister — explicitly emphasized during a phone call with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi that “Israel and China understand and appreciate each other. Israel regards China as a friend and has always adhered to the One-China policy since the establishment of diplomatic ties. This position has never changed and has become an important foundation of Israel-China relations…” Now, a lawmaker under Lapid is manipulating the Taiwan issue. Is this because he and the Yesh Atid party are unable to restrain their members? Or have they changed their attitude and turned their backs on China? Or are they intentionally expressing dissatisfaction with China’s Middle East policy? I am unwilling to maliciously speculate that the entire Yesh Atid party — especially its leader Lapid — has changed its attitude and policy toward China. I prefer to believe that this is just a case of the so-called “Taiwan-Israel Friendship Group” chairman jumping up and down to gain attention.

Perhaps because of these factors, China has adopted a relatively low-key, restrained, and calm approach, avoiding overreaction and disruption by a few bad apples in the Yesh Atid party, and striving to maintain the overall direction and fundamentals of China-Israel strategic mutual trust, friendship, and pragmatic cooperation.

It should be pointed out and guarded against: while Toporovsky was hyping up the Taiwan issue, certain malicious media outlets also released so-called reports of China exporting advanced fighter jets and air defense systems to Iran. This not only created tension and confrontation between Israel and Iran right after a ceasefire agreement was reached, but also tried to sow discord in China-Israel strategic mutual trust, worsen Israeli public opinion toward China, and damage bilateral relations and cooperation. These actions are ill-intentioned, fearing that the Middle East will become stable and that China’s Middle East diplomacy will proceed steadily and successfully.

Prof. Ma is the Dean of the Institute of Mediterranean Studies (ISMR) at Zhejiang International Studies University in Hangzhou. He specializes in international politics, particularly Islam and Middle Eastern affairs. He previously worked as a senior Xinhua correspondent in Kuwait, Palestine, and Iraq.