Islam Times - US Urged Zionist Entity to Hamper Chinese Investments: Report

Islam Times - US President Joe Biden’s administration and the Israeli regime held low-key talks on China last month, a sensitive topic given American concerns about Chinese investments in the Zionist entity, Axios reported Wednesday.

According to the report, the conversation on 14 December was the first wide-ranging consultation between the two sides on China since Biden took office, and it was led by deputy national security advisers from both sides.

Fearing retaliation from Beijing, the Israeli side reportedly attempted to keep it as low-key as possible.

At the meeting, representatives from numerous government agencies dealing with the economy, foreign affairs, and national security were present. Both sides provided general policy lines and exchanged notes as they perform their own policy evaluations, according to an undisclosed senior Israeli official, but no conclusions were reportedly reached.

Moreover, while visiting the Zionist entity a week after the meeting, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan brought up some of the same issues with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

Per the report, citing the Israeli side, Sullivan’s key points were Chinese involvement in infrastructure projects, concerns about Chinese hacking, and the need to establish a ‘united front’ against China.

Officials from the Israeli Foreign Ministry reportedly informed Israeli Security Cabinet on Sunday that the Biden administration was intensifying pressure on Tel Aviv to choose sides between the US and China.

“We have no dilemma about who is our most important ally and we are more mindful about US concerns and more transparent than we were in the past. But we are not going to avoid doing things with China that the US is not avoiding”, the unnamed Israeli official told Axios.