While Israel may not look at food as a national security issue, China certainly does. Until 30 years ago, food in China was scarce and the country was periodically plagued by famine. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that feeding 1.4 billion people has become a national priority and a primary focus of its president, Xi Jinping. Reflecting on China’s long history of food insecurity, Xi noted how “Memories of those days have been etched into the hearts of many and should serve as a reminder to us all.” According to author Lillian Li, “No other civilization has had such a continuous tradition of thinking about famine, and no other nation’s modern history has been so influenced by hunger and famine.” As a leading developer of cutting edge food technologies, Israel should be paying attention.

Although China has enjoyed an abundance of food for the past few decades, the memory of scarcity remains fresh in the Chinese mind. The "Clean Plate Campaign" that came on the heels of a speech by President Xi in 2020, where he announced that Covid-19 had "sounded the alarm" on food waste, epitomizes this mentality. Xi reportedly stressed that China must "maintain a sense of crisis about food security." Restaurants in some provinces responded by limiting the order of dishes to one less than the number of people in the group. This ran counter to the typical meals where the dishes served far outnumbered the customers and much of the food was thrown away.

The “two sessions” — annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) — just recently came to a close. If you’re an Israeli entrepreneur or policymaker, you probably should have been watching. 

The “two sessions” are among the most important political events in China. The meetings serve as a window into what is happening in China and what can be expected. This includes decisions that will impact both domestic and international economies. This year is particularly notable because China announced its 14th five-year plan, which for the first time was directly led by President Xi Jinping. If Israeli businesses know where to look and what to look for, this plan can reveal new opportunities.

What has long been hailed as an area where rival nations can find avenues for cooperation is now poised to become the next arena of geopolitical competition. Israeli policymakers should take note. 

According to a 2021 risk assessment recently published by the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy, climate will emerge as the new playground of global power rivalries, with the US and China taking center stage. The experts explain that “across a range of clean technologies—but especially batteries, power control systems, and other commanding heights of the 21st century energy economy—China's longstanding industrial policy approach will be met by its new US counterpart.” This impending scenario is poised to generate significant challenges for Israel as parts of the clean energy supply chain risk coming under decoupling pressures similar to those seen in 5G. 

As the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history, Benjamin Netanyahu has had a profound influence on the course of Sino-Israeli relations. In March 2009, when Netanyahu returned to the helm for the second time (his first stint as PM being from 1996-99), relations with Beijing and Jerusalem stood virtually dormant. Today, diplomatic relations between the two countries are the widest-reaching since normalization in 1992, with China having emerged as Israel's second-largest trading partner country. 

But as Israel's ties with China grew more robust, they also became increasingly complex.