CHINA'S ROVING EYE

It wasn't so long ago that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called his country's relationship with China "a marriage made in heaven." And when President Joe Biden told reporters in March 2023 that he wasn't inviting Netanyahu to Washington given his plans to undermine Israel's independent judiciary, Netanyahu planned a visit to President Xi Jinping in China instead.

- SIMONE LIPKIND

For Israel, the trip was a reminder to Washington that there are other superpowers looking to deepen their ties with Israel. For China, it was an opportunity to raise the costs of the U.S.'s pivot away from the Middle East to Asia by signaling that Beijing could fill some of the void. Netanyahu's ploy may have worked. Biden reneged in September and invited him to the White House.

That dynamic was upended in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Lately, Sino-Israeli ties will not be a viable pressure tool for Netanyahu because China has other plans. Beijing has distanced itself from Israel amid marked international criticism of its bombardment of Gaza-and China's move is playing well around much of the world. It serves as a counterpoint to Washington's diplomatic and military support of Israel, and supports China's goal of challenging its own reputation as a largely commercial player and the U.S.'s as the Middle East's diplomatic heavyweight.