Chinese bid knocked back as Israel gets caught between US-China rivalry

China’s investment ambitions in Israel were dealt a blow this week, and analysts say the relationship is under increasing pressure, with the Middle East nation and key US ally caught in the rivalry between Beijing and Washington.

The project, Sorek 2, will be the world’s largest desalination plant, with capacity to produce 200 million cubic metres of water annually – a quarter of the water Israel uses each year – in the south of Tel Aviv near an Israeli military base that is also used by the US.

The decision was made little more than a week after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States did not want the Chinese Communist Party to have access to Israeli infrastructure and communication systems during a visit to the country.