For years, Israel treated China as a distant economic partner — a country that bought our tech, invested in our infrastructure, and stayed politely out of our regional wars.
Melissa Chen’s conversation with Haviv Rettig Gur makes one thing painfully clear:
China is not a bystander. It is now one of the central enablers of the forces trying to destroy Israel.
This isn’t theory. It’s happening in real time — in Iran’s oil fields, in Gaza’s tunnels, in the UN Security Council, and even in the TikTok feeds of Western teenagers.
1. China Is the Financial Lifeline of the Iranian Regime
Iran’s ability to survive sanctions, suppress dissent, and fund its terror network depends overwhelmingly on Beijing.
From the interview:
“It literally buys more than 80% of Iran’s total oil exports… and does all the work necessary to bypass American sanctions.”
China buys Iranian oil at deep discounts, but in such massive quantities that it keeps the regime solvent. That money becomes:
- Ballistic missiles for Hezbollah
- Drones for Russia
- Cash for Hamas
- Salaries for the Basij and IRGC
- Subsidies that prevent the Iranian public from toppling the regime
China isn’t just a customer. It is Iran’s strategic depth.
2. Chinese Technology Is Embedded in the Iran–Israel Conflict
Iran’s battlefield is increasingly powered by Chinese systems:
- Chinese radar and air‑defence platforms
- Chinese cyber tools
- Chinese satellite navigation (BeiDou)
- Chinese AI‑driven surveillance
- Chinese electronic warfare used to block communications
As Chen notes:
“Iran has essentially co‑opted the Chinese technology and repression apparatus.”
When Israeli pilots fly over Iran, they are not only facing Iranian systems — they are facing Chinese engineering.
3. China’s Pro‑Palestinian Posture Isn’t Moral — It’s Strategic
China’s behaviour after October 7 was a mask‑slipping moment. While the world condemned Hamas, Beijing:
- Refused to call the massacre terrorism
- Called for “restraint on all sides”
- Blocked every US‑backed resolution condemning Hamas
- Amplified Palestinian messaging that mirrors CCP propaganda
Why? Because the Palestinian cause is a strategic asset in China’s long game.
The 2049 Project: China’s Imperial Horizon
China has a declared goal: by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the PRC, it intends to be the unchallenged global hegemon.
To get there, China must:
- Undermine US alliances
- Build influence in the Arab and Muslim world
- Present itself as the champion of “anti‑imperialist” struggles
- Weaken Western legitimacy
- Create a sino‑centric world order
The Palestinian issue is a perfect tool for all of these aims.
The Chessboard: How China Uses the Conflict
Chen puts it bluntly:
“In order to do that, it has to make these moves on the chessboard.”
Supporting the Palestinians allows China to:
- Court Arab states
- Undercut US influence
- Frame Israel as an American proxy
- Insert CCP narratives into Arab media
- Keep the Middle East unstable enough to distract the US from Asia
When the USS Abraham Lincoln left the Pacific for the Persian Gulf, China got exactly what it wanted:
American attention pulled away from Taiwan.
The Great Irony: China Is Now an Imperial Power Itself
China claims to oppose imperialism. Yet it now practices:
- Debt‑trap colonialism through the Belt and Road Initiative
- Resource extraction in Africa and Latin America
- Military expansion in the South China Sea
- Cultural domination in Tibet and Xinjiang
- Surveillance exports to dictatorships
As Chen observes:
“What it is is actually a form of neo‑colonialism… just not in a very overt way.”
China’s anti‑imperialist rhetoric is not a principle. It is a propaganda tool masking its own imperial ambitions — and the Palestinian cause is one of its most effective instruments.
4. Why China Is Actively Promoting Anti‑Semitism
This is one of the most disturbing parts of the interview — and one of the least understood.
Chen explains that the flood of anti‑Semitic content on TikTok and other platforms is not organic. It is part of a deliberate strategy drawn from the PLA doctrine of “unrestricted warfare.”
“Anti‑Semitic content is part of an informational war.”
“The battlefield is not Gaza. The battlefield is the hearts and minds of young people in the West.”
China uses:
- TikTok’s algorithm
- Bot farms
- State media in Arabic and English
- Paid activist networks
- CCP‑aligned NGOs
Why target Jews?
Because anti‑Semitism is a high‑yield wedge:
- It fractures Western societies
- It weakens support for Israel
- It delegitimises the US‑Israel alliance
- It radicalises young people against Western institutions
- It fuels chaos — which China sees as strategic advantage
China doesn’t need to love Hamas. It only needs the West to tear itself apart.
5. Israel’s China Bet Has Backfired
For a decade, Israel courted China — ports, tech, agriculture, infrastructure. Netanyahu even called the relationship “a marriage made in heaven.”
October 7 ended that illusion.
China has shown:
- It will not condemn Hamas
- It will not support Israel’s right to self‑defence
- It will protect Iran at every turn
- It will use the Palestinian issue to weaken the West
- It will amplify anti‑Semitism to destabilise democracies
Israel is now facing a strategic reality it did not prepare for.
Why This Matters
Israel’s security environment is no longer defined by Iran alone. It is shaped by a China–Iran axis that:
- Funds Iran
- Arms Iran
- Protects Iran diplomatically
- Enables Iran technologically
- Amplifies anti‑Semitism to weaken Israel’s allies
This is not a regional problem. It is a global realignment — and Israel is on the front line.
Israel must now:
- Reduce technological exposure to China
- Limit Chinese access to critical infrastructure
- Coordinate closely with the US on export controls
- Harden itself against information warfare
- Recognise that China’s rise is not neutral — it is adversarial
The era of hedging is over. The era of strategic clarity has begun.
Key Takeaways
- China is Iran’s economic lifeline, buying over 80% of its oil and enabling sanctions evasion.
- Chinese technology is embedded in Iran’s military and cyber capabilities, directly affecting Israel’s battlefield.
- China’s support for the Palestinians is strategic, tied to its 2049 goal of replacing the US‑led world order.
- China is actively promoting anti‑Semitism as part of an information‑warfare strategy to destabilise Western societies.
- Israel’s decade‑long bet on China has backfired, and a new strategic posture is urgently needed.
About Melissa Chen
Melissa Chen is a Singaporean‑born journalist, commentator, and human‑rights advocate known for her work on free speech, civil liberties, and the global battle of ideas. She is the Managing Director of Ideas Beyond Borders, a nonprofit dedicated to translating and disseminating pro‑liberty works into Arabic, Farsi, and Kurdish to expand access to censored ideas. A former New York Editor of Spectator USA, Chen frequently appears across podcasts, conferences, and media platforms, offering analysis on authoritarianism, censorship, and the cultural forces shaping open societies.
About Haviv Rettig Gur
Haviv Rettig Gur is an Israeli journalist and senior political analyst at The Times of Israel, known for his deeply researched reporting on Israeli society, Jewish identity, and the evolving relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. Born in Jerusalem and raised partly in the United States, he served as a combat medic in the IDF before studying history and Jewish thought at the Hebrew University. His earlier career included years as the Jewish world correspondent for The Jerusalem Post and later as spokesman for the Jewish Agency. Gur’s work is widely respected for its clarity, historical grounding, and ability to illuminate the forces shaping contemporary Jewish life.
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