Chinese Ambassador to Israel Xiao Junzheng told JNS in an exclusive interview last week that Beijing views Israel as a “friend,” and stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral ties.
“Israel is a friend of China and an important partner,” he said, while defending China’s ties to Iran and rejecting security concerns over Chinese infrastructure and other activities in the Middle East.
The interview took place on Thursday, on the sidelines of the 10th Annual Conference on Israel’s China and Indo-Pacific Policy, hosted by SIGNAL Group and held at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The conference offered panel discussions with interregional experts, academics and diplomats, including Xiao and Japanese Ambassador to Israel Arai Yusuke. Panel discussions echoed themes of hope, criticism and questions about the future of the region.
Israeli officials have become increasingly critical of China’s diplomatic and strategic relationship with Iran in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 massacre in 2023.
According to Iranian customs data reported by The Wall Street Journal, approximately 1,300 shipments containing dual-use components were sent from China to Iran’s Defense Ministry during the first six months of 2026. Dual-use components can have civilian and military applications, including in missiles and drones.
Xiao maintained that China’s ties with Iran were conducted within the framework of international law. “We are not a party to the conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran,” he told JNS.
Israeli officials have raised red flags about Chinese infrastructure in the country for years.
A 2022 strategic assessment by the Institute for National Security Studies cited a warning from former Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) director Nadav Argaman, who stated, “Chinese involvement in Israel is especially dangerous for everything related to strategic infrastructure and large companies in our economy.”
China’s major undertakings in Israeli infrastructure include the Carmel Tunnels (a set of toll tunnels in Haifa), the Red Line of the Tel Aviv Light Rail, the new Ashdod port, the Bayport Terminal in Haifa (operated by the Shanghai International Port Group), and power plant and pumped-storage projects.
Asked by JNS about infrastructure-related security concerns, Xiao defended China’s involvement, saying, “Israel is not the first country in the Middle East to have infrastructure cooperation with China, and it will not be the last, either in this region or elsewhere in the world.”
He went on to explain that China has cooperated on many projects, including airports, ports, railways, subways, highways and oil refineries. No other country with infrastructure cooperation with China has expressed such security concerns, only Israel, he said.
The interest of both sides
Xiao maintained that no Israeli government agency had presented Beijing with evidence that Chinese infrastructure projects posed a threat to the Jewish state’s security.
“I must remind our Israeli friends that cooperation between us serves the interests of both sides,” he said. “It is also critical for Israel, especially during wartime.”
“When this country was under threat from missiles and drones, those infrastructure projects maintained operation and provided significant assistance to the Israeli government and people,” he added.
Xiao said this should be viewed as a contribution to the resilience of Israeli society.
During his public remarks, Xiao condemned antisemitic statements and calls for Israel’s elimination, affirming Israel’s right to existence and development. He also highlighted China’s historic ties to the Jewish people, recalling its role in accepting Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Lower Manhattan estimates that nearly 18,000 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution found refuge in Shanghai during the 1930s and 1940s. Shanghai did not require entry visas until 1939.
Asked by JNS about China’s relationship with Israel following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, the ambassador said, “Both sides need to do more.”
Xiao pointed to efforts to strengthen bilateral ties, citing an Oct. 15 meeting between Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the 7th Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Summit in Azerbaijan.
Israel and China have a long history of cooperation. In January 1950, Israel was the first Middle Eastern country to recognize the People’s Republic of China. In 1992, Israel’s Joint Communique established diplomatic relations between the two countries; Jerusalem recognized Beijing as the only legal government representing China and Taiwan, recognizing the One-China Policy.
Over the decades, Israel-China relations have grown to include economic ties, reaching a high in the 2010s.
On economic cooperation, Xiao told JNS, “Israel excels at making breakthroughs from zero to one, while China excels at scaling those breakthroughs from one to 100. We’re confident that Israeli entrepreneurs from all sectors will find opportunities in the vast Chinese market.”
