China in the Mashriq: New Best Friend
... Chinese investments. For example, Israel and the U.S. had a big disagreement over the reconstruction of the Haifa port, China’s participation in the construction causing U.S. warnings. In the opinion of U.S. officials, increased Chinese investment in Israel is a serious threat to the latter’s national security. * * * China’s influence in the Middle East is still mainly limited to issues of trade and economy, currently pursued within the overarching framework of the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). However, China is also harboring some foreign policy ambitions. This has become especially noticeable with China’s active stance in establishing relations ...