“China’s limited response to and non-involvement during the Twelve-Day War in June 2025 appear to have consolidated the belief in Israel that Beijing, under no circumstances, would intervene to support Tehran during wartime. In this context, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ expressions of concern over the American-Israeli strikes, along with its condemnation of the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei as violations of Iranian sovereignty and international norms, were interpreted in Israeli commentary as a mere standard pattern of response.”
Amanda Chen (ChinaMed, T.wai) is author of the issue “Israeli Experts Converge: China Can’t Afford to Back Iran” of the ChinaMed Observer.
