SIGNAL Group’s 2024 annual policy conference was held 230 days after the October 7th massacre propagated by Hamas, which marked the onset of the first war in Middle East in the era of Great Power Competition (GPC). The conference highlighted the contrasting roles of global powers, with the U.S. engaged actively in the conflict, though with mixed results, and China observing from the sidelines, seeking to leverage perceived U.S. shortcomings. During the war, China’s stance toward Israel has taken on an increasingly adversarial tone, aligning more closely with Moscow and Tehran.

The conference aimed to provide the Israeli policy community with insights into China’s rise amid shifting regional and global dynamics. SIGNAL Group also launched its expanded strategic agenda, the Global Israel Initiative (GII). The premise of GII is that the most effective strategy for Israel to address both China’s rise and the U.S.-China rivalry is to focus on the Indo-Pacific and act as a middle power.