Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy on the Middle East issue, on Thursday in Jerusalem, where they discussed ways to improve relations.
“Had a good and honest meeting with Special Envoy Zhai Jun of the China to the Middle East,” Sa’ar posted to X.
“I urged China to pay attention to Iran’s attempts to rearm and regroup its web of proxies. Iran is still the main source of instability in the Middle East,” he said.
“I also emphasized that a reliable peace process requires Palestinian society to undergo a process of deradicalization and to disconnect from the ethos of terror,” Sa’ar added.
On Wednesday, Zhai visited Ramallah, meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
"[T]he Chinese envoy conveyed the greetings of the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, to President Mahmoud Abbas, reaffirming his country’s supportive positions for the rights of the Palestinian people and their right to an independent state,” the P.A.'s Wafa news agency reported.
Had a good and honest meeting with Special Envoy Zhai Jun of the China to the Middle East.
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) January 8, 2026
I stressed our need to enhance our dialogue and to improve relations.
I urged China to pay attention to Iran's attempts to rearm and regroup its web of proxies. Iran is still the main… pic.twitter.com/FixRKMYKpz
Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, China’s leadership has positioned itself on the side of the Palestinians, leading international criticism of IDF actions, blocking U.N. resolutions condemning Hamas, and repeating accusations of “collective punishment” and “violations of international law.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared on Oct. 14, 2023, that Israel had gone “beyond the scope of self-defense,” a week after the attack when Israel still had not entered the Gaza Strip. Israel began its ground incursion on Oct. 27 of that year.
Beijing’s messaging, echoed by state media outlets, has framed Israel as the aggressor and elevated pro-Palestinian narratives.
Perhaps most damaging to Israel, Chinese-owned TikTok has been flooded with anti-Israel content.
“In China, there was a really clear push by the government through its censorship control, enforcing an anti-Israel mindset. All social and traditional media received non-stop images from Gaza to turn the public opinion against Israel,” Carice Witte, the founder and executive director of SIGNAL Group, told JNS recently.
“Social media under Chinese control in other countries has likely also been shaped to produce a similar effect,” she added.
