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How Will Israel Navigate the U.S.-China Tech Cold War?

(Council on Foreign Relations) Omree Wechsler - Israel is a key technology and innovation center. In the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017, Israel is ranked as the second most innovative nation in the world. The U.S. is trying to prevent key technologies from being transferred to Chinese entities and its technological and trade secrets from being stolen. Australia and Japan banned Chinese telecommunication companies from supplying equipment to 5G cellular networks infrastructure out of fear of cyber espionage. Chinese firms are interested in Israel's innovation and technological capabilities and Israel welcomes their investments. Trade relations between Israel and China grew 30% in the first half of 2018. Israel has an interest in increasing its exports to the huge Chinese market, as well as increasing foreign investments in its local industries. Israel also hopes that its growing relations with China will prevent it from supporting its regional adversary, Iran. The U.S. is likely to pressure Israel to limit its exposure to Chinese investors, particularly in key technologies like cyber and AI. Should Washington exert serious pressure, Israel's interest in China will always be secondary to its close ties with the U.S. The writer is the head of cyber research at the Yuval Ne'eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security in Tel Aviv.
2019-02-08 00:00:00
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