Behind the silk mask lies the truth: Beijing channels resources that empower our adversaries, provides platforms to Hamas, expands its footprint in our ports and networks, and leads a global campaign of delegitimization – turning from a distant rival into an immediate strategic threat.
This pattern is not unique to Israel. In Canada, a 2025 inquiry documented Chinese attempts to interfere in federal elections. In the UK, authorities attributed the hack of the Electoral Commission to Beijing. In Australia, the 99-year Darwin Port lease remains a live security controversy. In Africa, Huawei technicians were reported assisting Uganda and Zambia in political surveillance. And in Taiwan, officials tracked a 60% surge in Chinese disinformation in 2024, with over two million fabricated items.
On September 15, 2025, Prime Minister Netanyahu told a US delegation in Jerusalem that Israel faces a “media siege” funded by Qatar and China, pouring enormous sums into isolating Israel diplomatically. According to Western officials, Beijing rushed to take offense – but actions speak louder than protests.
Without Chinese support, Iran could not sustain its failing economy or bankroll Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Over 90% of Iran’s oil flows to China, providing a financial lifeline for its regional aggression. Procurement networks in China and Hong Kong have supplied precision components to Iran’s drones – the very UAVs now striking ships in the Red Sea, launched by Houthis in the south and Hezbollah in the north. And while much criticism has focused on India’s discounted purchases of Russian oil, far less attention is given to Beijing’s massive and ongoing lifeline to Tehran – a reality with global implications.
On the diplomatic front, China openly hosts Hamas in Beijing, granting it a platform under the banner of “Palestinian unity” and pushing for a ceasefire – in practice, the entrenchment of Hamas in power. This functions less as mediation and more as a platform that consistently casts Israel in the role of defendant. At the same time, Beijing’s networks amplify anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda, designed to stigmatize Israel as a pariah.
And what about here at home? In Haifa’s new port, a Chinese state-owned company (SIPG) operates a terminal less than two kilometers from the Navy’s main base – proximity that has repeatedly raised security concerns. Israel has not sat idly by: it blocked a Chinese desalination bid in 2020, restricted Huawei 5G, and banned Chinese vehicles from the Israeli army bases. If such technologies are deemed unsafe for the IDF, they should raise concerns for the state as a whole.
Beyond Moscow: The Hostile New Order of Beijing and Ankara
World capitals see Moscow as the central threat, and in doing so miss the broader picture: Beijing and Ankara advancing a new order. Beijing floods markets with subsidized electronics and infrastructure gear that seem cheap but breed dependence. Today, over 41% of EU machinery and electronics imports come from China, giving Beijing leverage over Europe’s supply chains. Chinese firms are building multi-billion-euro battery plants across the continent, embedding their footprint, while Europe’s auto and chip industries grow ever more reliant on Chinese parts. This is not simply trade – it is leverage, industrial coercion hiding behind a price tag.
Turkey, meanwhile, a NATO member only on paper, openly embraces Hamas and wages campaigns not only against Israel but against Europe itself. In 2025, Athens recorded renewed armed F-16 incursions after a 30-month lull, alongside more than a hundred violations by Turkish UAVs and patrol aircraft – while NAVTEX duels in the Aegean and challenges to EU maritime zones around Cyprus have become routine. Brussels calls a handful of Russian flights over Estonia a “major threat”, yet overlooks Turkey’s constant violations of EU airspace in Greece and Cyprus. This reflects a pattern of selective vigilance in Europe.
Most dangerous of all, Ankara links its “Middle Corridor” with China’s Belt & Road, drawing in Pakistan through CPEC and Gwadar. Houthi strikes in the Red Sea already erode the Suez route, making these land corridors more appealing. For Israel, this bypasses Eastern Mediterranean trade; for Europe, it creates a rival artery; and for Egypt, it threatens Suez revenues and strategic leverage. These are not abstract lines on a map but pathways that can redraw global commerce at the expense of Israel, Europe, and Egypt alike.
The military dimension is equally stark. The Houthi campaign in the Red Sea relies on Iranian drones built with Chinese components and emboldened by Turkish facilitation – facts noted by the US Treasury Department and allied intelligence assessments. This convergence of Chinese capital, Turkish geography, Iranian technology, and Houthi terror is deliberate: a fusion of resources to test maritime security and project pressure far beyond the region. For Israel, it means strategic encirclement; for Europe it means vulnerability at their most vital chokepoint.
Israel needs a policy of clarity. Netanyahu’s statement is already setting in motion a plan: full control of critical infrastructure, including public control where necessary; a binding standard to block Chinese vehicles and hardware from vital systems; and steps to reduce dependence on cheap but hazardous equipment. The same clarity is required for all democracies facing Chinese coercion.
The Time Has Come to Recognize Taiwan’s Independence?
On the diplomatic front, the time has come to openly debate recognition of Taiwan as the sovereign democracy it already is. In practice, Israel and many democracies already treat Taiwan as such – through trade offices, security cooperation, and cultural ties – yet avoid saying so explicitly. Recognition is therefore not just about Taiwan’s de facto reality, but a moral imperative: correcting history and acknowledging openly the Republic of China as the state it already is.
The message to Beijing must be unmistakable: those who bankroll our enemies, embrace Hamas, and penetrate our infrastructure are adversaries, not partners – and those who silence democracies are enemies of freedom. In July 2025, 72 out of Israel’s 120 Members of Knesset – from both coalition and opposition – despite open pressure and threats from Beijing against MK Boaz Toporovsky, signed a cross-party declaration calling for Taiwan’s inclusion in international forums. That act underscored a simple truth: Taiwan is already, de facto, a sovereign democracy – the Republic of China, governing itself since 1912, trading, building alliances, and standing by Israel with aid and solidarity at the very moment Beijing turned its back.
This is not an anti-China slogan but a pro-democracy demand. The European Union, United States, India, Japan, Australia, and Israel must act in concert – diplomatically, economically, and strategically. If democracies fail to confront coercion together, each will face the consequences.
First published in Hebrew in Maariv, this article now appears in English in a revised and expanded version prepared by the author.
Shay Gal is a senior strategic advisor and analyst specializing in international security, defense policy, geopolitical crisis management, and strategic communications. He served as Vice President of External Relations at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and previously held senior advisory roles for Israeli government ministers, focusing on crisis management, policy formulation, and strategic influence. Shay consults governments, senior military leaders, and global institutions on navigating complex geopolitical landscapes, shaping effective defense strategies, and fostering international strategic cooperation. His writing and analysis address international power dynamics, security challenges, economics, and leadership, offering practical insights and solutions to today’s global issues.