As the Donald Trump administration ramped up its self-declared "trade war" with China this week, Pentagon officials are expressing increasing concern that Israel and other Middle East nations could be falling deeper into Beijing’s orbit.
Speaking in Washington last week, the Defense Department’s top Middle East policy official said the US military is “highly attentive” to Chinese trade and infrastructure investments with Israel. The Pentagon has repeatedly raised issue with Israel’s decision to allow the government-owned Shanghai International Port Group to strike a $2 billion deal to operate Haifa Port by 2021, a port of call for the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet.
