China has expressed support for Palestinian independence over israel's occupation. However, China maintains a close and close relationship with Israel.

The value of trade between the two countries grew from about 1 billion U.S. dollars at the turn of the century to above 11.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. China currently stands as Israel's second largest trading partner behind the United States (US).

Israel, like many countries, desperately wants access to China's large markets and benefits from Beijing's penchant for making a lot of money on infrastructure projects. China also sees Israel as a key part of the Belt and Road Initiative to project and deepen its economic and political power.

Strategically located in the Mediterranean, Israel is a high-income authority with an innovative economy. "China's main interest in Israel is advanced technology," said the deputy director of the Center for Middle East Studies at Fudan University, Chuchu Zhang, quoted from Aljazirah.

A study by the RAND Corporation of 92 business deals in Israel by Chinese state-owned companies between 2011-2018 found, the lion's share of investments with a value of about 5.7 billion U.S. dollars went to Israel's technology sector.

Israeli specialist at the RAND Corporation, Shira Efron, said the generosity has strengthened China's image in Israel. "In Israel's eyes, China is a country with new opportunities," he said. 

That shared interest helps explain why Israel is ignoring China's vocal support for the Palestinians. Nevertheless, China has sought to maintain its historical image as a strong supporter of Palestine by taking a symbolic stance on certain issues.

In 2017, Beijing banned its citizens from taking part in the construction of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. In fact, when the recommendations were called out, Chinese contractors remained busy working on infrastructure projects in Israel.

Last month saw more symbolic maneuvers in response to the conflict in the Gaza Strip. China, which assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in May, is working to pass a resolution condemning the violence and demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The attempt blocked the U.S. from 2015.

Shortly before the ceasefire for the conflict brokered by Egypt and Qatar, China offered to host israeli and Palestinian delegations. The submission seeks peace talks and floats a four-point peace plan that calls for a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the Capital of Palestine.

Zhang said, in fact, China has little advantage of taking a tougher stance against the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Beijing prefers to use it to put Washington in a bad position. "The goal is to earn points on the global stage by expressing and criticizing U.S. double standards in the Middle East," Zhang said.