Security officials are raising alarms over Chinese investment in Israeli technology companies, prompting the Israeli government to scrutinise the money flows and urge businesses to reconsider accepting Chinese funds.
Israel is moving to create an interagency government body to oversee sensitive commercial deals involving foreign companies, US and Israeli officials said, akin to the US’s Committee on Foreign Investment, or Cfius.
The effort has been under way in recent months but has taken on added urgency amid recent complaints about Chinese investment from American and Israeli security officials, including US National Security Adviser John Bolton and Israel’s domestic spy chief.
US and Israeli officials said they were concerned about stepped-up Chinese investments in Israeli companies whose products are dual use, meaning they have both military and commercial applications, such as drones and artificial intelligence.
They also worry about China using Israeli companies as a way to uncover US secrets and about Beijing transferring Israeli technological know-how to its ally, Iran, an arch foe of Israel.
Officials said they worry that Chinese government entities could gain access to sensitive information by gaining control over and insight into companies that are in the dual-use space.
Read the article by Felicia Schwartz and Dov Lieber (The Wall Street Journal) in The Australian.