From Ignoring to Engagement: Chinese Soft Power Pipelines Diffusion (SPPD) towards Israel, 1949-2020

In the early days of Communist China, they objected to the very existence of Israel. But under the surface there had been some interactions for brief periods. However, ever since official diplomatic ties were established in 1992, the relations have gained momentum. The main reason for this shift, as this article argues, was China’s labeling of Israel as a source of knowledge and innovation that they should cooperate with. As a result, Chinese attitudes toward Israel changed from resistance, which was at times quite active, to an increasing Chinese presence that makes widespread use of Soft Power Pipelines Diffusion (SPPD), such as the Confucius Institutes and more. The article chronicles the developments that occurred in China-Israel relations, while dividing the timeline into three major periods. Next, the article focuses on the final period to discuss and analyze Chinese’s SPPD in Israel, and to examine their interests and Israeli responses.