Israel makes China sit up with Iran attack plan

The Chinese didnt seem too surprised by the evidence we showed them8230; they really sat up in their chairs when we described what a pre-emptive attack would do to the region and on oil supplies they8230; depend on, said an Israeli official.

The episode demonstrates how Israel has found ways to engage China whose geopolitical heft is increasingly vital to the Jewish state.

Israel has stepped up its soft-power diplomacy through academic,cultural and medical exchanges. Israel is not a great supplier of the kinds of natural resources that China can find among some of our neighbours but we do have a lot to offer them,and there is a strong sense of mutual respect, said Amos Nadai,the Israeli ambassador to Beijing.