The coronavirus outbreak should prompt Israel to develop alternatives to the Israeli economy's dependency on China, a new essay penned by former National Security Adviser Jacob Nagel and author Jonathan Schanzer for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, suggests.
The FDD is a Washington, DC-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
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The two explain that the global pandemic has direct implications for Israel's national resilience, saying that the emergence of the coronavirus has a profound effect on lifestyles worldwide, and it may be indirectly linked to Israel's economic, political, and governmental resilience.
How Israel deals with the corona crisis could directly impact its economic strength and independence and therefore its national security, the two argue.
Nagel and Schanzer note that the spread of the COVID-19 virus reflects Israel's "unhealthy dependence on Chinese industry," and suggest increasing the pool of Israel's sources of import.
The coronavirus crisis presents both challenges and opportunities for Israel, and it should be seen as a wakeup call.
Hovering on the brink of a recession and facing an actual shortage of goods and services "is a sign that those who have become addicted to Chinese imports cannot ignore," the paper said. The current crisis should be a catalyst to the formulation of different policies and the future.
This should not impact Israel's trade relations with China, but rather provide it with alternatives that would reduce its dependency on the Asian power.
"Israel is an advanced economy and as such, it is a coveted target market for cooperation. It is important to explore [trade ties] with countries such as Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Western Europe and more," the two wrote.
"The coronavirus crisis has reached only some of these countries, and it is not yet clear how it will end, but it is very important to understand from it why sole one source [of imports] cannot be relied upon."
Nagel and Schanzer further stressed that reducing Israel's dependency on Chinese goods will also help benefit ties with the United States.
"It's no secret that the United States, Israel's largest friend, and only strategic ally, sees China as its no. 1 strategic rival, does not approve of the robust trade relations between Israel and China."
