Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Bill Burns told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during a visit last week that the U.S. is concerned about Chinese investments in the country, especially in the high-tech sector and infrastructure projects.
Bennett responded that Israel understands the American concerns and agrees with some of them, Israeli officials also told Axios. Burns raised reports about a Chinese cyber attack against Israeli technology companies two years ago.
The Trump administration also raised the issue of security threats posed by China in December.
“In recent months, we started a dialogue with the Biden administration on China. The U.S. asked about specific projects like the Chinese involvement in the Tel Aviv metro. We told the Americans we welcome U.S. infrastructure companies to work on big projects in Israel but they don’t apply to the tenders,” a senior Israeli official said, according to the report.
Future talks are expected to be held between Israel’s National Security Council and the White House.
