China-Israel Arms Trade and Co-Operation

The present study examines the development of the China-Israel arms trade relations that started back in 1979. The implications for the future of the Middle East are discussed within the assumptions of a rise of China as a major international key player, together with, or even ahead of, the United States. Israel had seen China as a goal to achieve its political strategic goals. For China, the military cooperation with Israel would give the Asian power the opportunity of upgrading and modernizing its military force through obtaining the western-style technologies from Israel. The study raises the question of whether the military cooperation between the two countries has achieved, or likely to achieve, its declared goals and hidden agenda. The study found that for China, the bilateral cooperation efforts are likely to pay off. For Israel, however, the long-term political goals of influencing China to stop its military support to Iran and diplomatic support to the Palestinians are still elusive or even mythic.