Israel's Creep Toward China

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

From time to time America expresses its displeasure at Israel’s conduct toward China, demanding that it stop trading in advanced modern technology. Israel had previously tried to sell drones of its own manufacture to China; America protested and pressed for the deal’s cancellation, and, according to the media and America’s own silence afterward, Israel stopped short of completing it. At present, America is speaking with displeasure about Israel supplying China with advanced technology, and is demanding that it stop. Some media outlets note that this electronic deal has cast a certain tension over meetings between American and Israeli officials.

It is certainly in the interest of the United States to place obstacles in the way of China’s electronic and technical development, and to press down on every available brake and lever to slow China’s advance toward the electronic revolution. China is a powerful competitor, aspiring to global leadership and to becoming a nation of great standing among nations across every sphere of life. America is now the sole pole enjoying dominance and the final word, and it does not want a rival capable of seriously affecting the balance of power, turning “one” into “two.” China now constitutes a military and economic preoccupation for the United States — so how could the equation of competition possibly develop if electronics and photonics became a vital part of Chinese manufacturing?

But Israel, too, calculates according to its own interests. China is a promising state, and may well be the state of the future, extending its arms in every direction on the global level, and it is difficult for any sensible person to ignore this expected development. Looking back, we find that the Zionist movement first turned toward the Ottoman state to achieve its ambitions, because Palestine was part of it, and the state could have enacted the appropriate laws to fulfill Zionist wishes. When that failed, it decided to turn to the European states, which were expected to bring down the Ottoman state and seize Palestine. And once it saw that Britain’s scale outweighed France’s, it threw its full weight behind London, so that Britain would adopt its ambition of establishing a national home for the Jews. And when it became certain that America had come to surpass the European states during the Second World War, it packed its bags and entrenched itself on the western shore of the Atlantic Ocean. The meaning of all this is that the Zionist movement never cared about friendships and ties as such — it cared only about its own interests, in order to achieve its goals.

[It moved toward America] once it became certain that the post-1967 phase would require weapons more modern and advanced, and would require strong political backing. As for the United Nations, on whose resolutions Israel had once relied, it no longer commanded any respect, and Israel decided, together with America, to seek a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict outside international frameworks and bodies.

As is clear, and in keeping with the Arabic proverb, “Israel sides with the standing wall” — Israel works for itself, not for the sake of its friendships, and friendship is nothing but a vehicle toward reaching its own ends. The interest of the state is supreme, and everything else recedes on the ladder of priorities. This is the premise behind its creep toward China. It sees China as a giant, great power advancing steadily in every field, conquering the world in many industries, and too mighty to be wiped out by foreign invasion or shaken by any sanctions America might impose.

It is in America’s interest that Israel not cooperate with China in fields it considers strategic; it is in Israel’s interest to secure a relationship with China for itself; and it is in China’s interest to obtain advanced technology from Israel. In the end, it is Israel’s own interest that settles the matter, and American pressure can bear fruit only to the extent that Israel sees it as serving its own interests. Israel will proceed — perhaps by secretive means — toward building relations with China, to ensure that this giant will not, in the future, become an obstacle to its policies in the Arab region, but only up to the point where this does not threaten its vital interests with the United States. In other words, Israel will always search for the point of balance that secures it either Chinese neutrality or Chinese support, alongside the continuation of American support.

There was a period when Israel felt uneasy over China’s friendship with the Arabs and its defense of the Arab position on the Palestinian question. China stood with the Palestinian resistance factions and offered them support, whether in training or in diplomatic activity — something Israel saw as an Arab success. But now, after the Arabs have turned their backs on most of their friends and supporters, the opportunity has become ripe for Israel to turn the tables.

As far as Israel is concerned, all nations besides the Hebrews are impure and must be made to serve the chosen people, and friendship with them is nothing but a matter of interest. This is what we read in its sacred books, and this is what we see in the history of its relations with the nations. Is it not Israel that spies on the United States and plants its eyes and agents there, at the very same time that America offers it every kind of support and backing?

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “الزحف الإسرائيلي نحو الصين” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.