United States eyeing Israel's academic ties with China amid tensions

One industry that the US has fingered as particularly sensitive is technology, so much so that the US has been eyeing Chinese-Israeli joint academic research in the field.

MAY 20, 2020 11:29

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese VP Wang Qishan attend the Committee on Innovation in Israel-China Foreign Ministry (photo credit: GPO/KOBI GIDEON) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese VP Wang Qishan attend the Committee on Innovation in Israel-China Foreign Ministry

(photo credit: GPO/KOBI GIDEON)

The United States is closely monitoring the academic ties held between Israel and China, according to Bloomberg News who cited "two people familiar with the matter."

According to the two sources who spoke on the condition of anonominity, there has been no word surrounding the intentions of the United States' to delve out "penalties" or "incentives" to curb Israeli relations with Chinese Universities.

One industry that the US has fingered as particularly sensitive is technology, so much so that the US has been eyeing Chinese-Israeli joint academic research in the field, a separate United States source confirmed.

The US is especially concerned with the billions of dollars Chinese companies have invested in Israeli technologies that Israel has classified as commercial, but could be used by Chinese intelligence, like artificial intelligence, satellite communications and cybersecurity. Some of the technology companies investing in Israel, like Huawei and ZTE, are known to sell products with security vulnerabilities.

The biomedical field is also likely to be a sensitive one in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis. A report by the RAND think tank found over $1 billion in Chinese investments in the Israeli health and biomedical sectors in 2013-2018. CFIUS monitors these kinds of investments in the US, and the EU instructed its members in April to be more cautious about foreign investments in public health companies.

Israel, for the past five years, has been heavily involved in exchange programs and research collaboration agreement with China. In 2015, exchange student programs were set up to bring Chinese students to study in Israel, additionally seven universities across the two countries signed formal academic agreements to collaborate and share future research. Around 1,000 Chinese students study in Israel annually, mainly in the technology, science and engineering sector, according to head of international policy for Israel’s official Council for Higher Education Emma Afterman.

“There’s been more cooperation with China, more exchange, more research,” Afterman said, according to Bloomberg. “I’m not worried about it becoming a delicate issue, we have the ability to manage it and I think we can define how we want to do it.”

Founder of the Israeli non-profit Sino-Israel Global Network and Academic Leadership Carice Witte said, however, that the Israeli government should be "more vigilant" in prohibiting China from using the academic coorperation towards military matters.

“The results of the university academic research can be seen as dual use, supporting technology that clearly has dual-use potential,” Witte said, according to Bloomberg. “In Israel, university academia is funded to a great extent by the government, so the government here does have the potential to say something but they don’t.”

Recently, the US asked its allies, including Israel, to sever ties with China in areas with security risks, a US official with knowledge of talks on the matter said on Tuesday.

The demand marks an escalation, since in previous public statements, US Ambassador David Friedman and State Department officials had focused on the establishment of a more robust review process for foreign investments that could pose risks, and a reduction of reliance on China for emergency equipment in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

As Secretary of Defense Mike Pompeo has done in the past, the official emphasized that “this is not exclusive to Israel. We’re having similar conversations with all of our allies and partners.”

The Trump administration official said that Israel must be prepared to take concrete action to reduce its ties with China.

“I don’t think polite deflection will cut it anymore,” he stated. “This is a high priority for the US.”

The ongoing friction between the US and China escalated in recent months, in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, and the US has put pressure on many of its allies as a result.

The US has repeatedly and publicly asked Israel to make its system of regulating foreign investments more comprehensive. The Prime Minister’s Office established an advisory committee on the matter last month, but its recommendations are nonbinding and regulators are not required to bring investments before the panel. In addition, investments in technology are outside its narrow mandate.

China is Israel’s third-largest trading partner, and trade between the countries grew by 402% in the past decade, reaching about $14 billion in 2018.

Lahav Harkov and Zachary Keyser contributed to this report.