Relationship dossier
People's Republic of China
Israel
Relationship assessment
Economic ties coexist with sharp disagreements over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
People's Republic of China toward Israel
+5China has pursued trade and commercial cooperation with Israel, including Chinese participation in the operation of Haifa port. At the same time, Beijing supports Palestinian statehood and has criticized Israeli policies and military actions, limiting the political warmth of the relationship.
Israel toward People's Republic of China
+25Israel has maintained commercial and technology ties with China and awarded a Chinese company a contract to operate a Haifa port terminal. The governments also began free-trade negotiations, though the agreement was not concluded.
Overall relationship
+10The relationship has a durable economic dimension, including trade and Chinese involvement in Israeli port infrastructure, but political disagreements over Palestinian statehood and Israeli actions remain substantial. These contrasting features make the bilateral relationship mixed rather than a close strategic partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
China and Israel maintain substantial economic ties, including trade and Chinese participation in Israeli port infrastructure. Political relations are more strained: Beijing has consistently supported Palestinian statehood and criticized Israeli policies and military actions. The relationship therefore combines practical economic cooperation with significant disagreement over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Areas of tension
- China's support for Palestinian statehood and criticism of Israeli policies
- Chinese criticism of Israeli military actions
Key developments
China and Israel established diplomatic relations.
Israel awarded a Chinese company a contract to operate a terminal at Haifa port.
China and Israel began negotiations on a free-trade agreement.
Major uncertainties
- The extent and implementation of bilateral economic and technology cooperation are unclear.
- The durability of Chinese investment and commercial activity in Israeli infrastructure is uncertain.