Chinese university closes Israel campus as relations ‘sour’

A Chinese university campus in Israel has permanently closed as relations between the two countries sour in the wake of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) was the first and only Chinese campus to set up an outpost in Israel, opening a campus north of Tel Aviv in 2021. 

According to The New Arab, the branch campus has now closed its doors, with the former Israeli ambassador to China, who led the project to open it, describing the decision as “a great shame”.

The university’s website states that UIBE-Israel was born from the need to develop more graduates who “know and understand China”. 

Students from the university were expected to visit China twice during their studies to develop their Chinese language skills and knowledge of the country. The university also had plans to expand both its physical presence in Israel and the courses it offered. 

However, UIBE-Israel suspended new enrolments from August 2024 owing to licensing issues. According to a senior member of the university’s team, a certain number of Chinese faculty were required to teach at the branch campus under the terms agreed with Israel’s higher education council when the institution was established. However, because of the ongoing war, Chinese teaching staff have been unable to travel to Israel. 

The university did not respond to questions about its closure, but the decision comes as tensions grow between Israel and China. The latter is widely seen as having sided with Palestinians and other Arab nations in the regional conflict that started last year. 

According to Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London, this is part of China’s focus on “cultivating” relations with the Global South under Xi Jinping. 

“This means that when push comes to shove, China takes the side of the Palestinians, who are part of the Global South, in contrast to Israel being an extended democratic West,” he said. “This is the context for the closure of the…campus.”

Gedaliah Afterman, head of the Asia-Israel policy programme at the Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, an Israeli thinktank, said the closure was due to “technical regulations on the Israeli side rather than any direct decision by China to disinvest from Israel”.

However, he added that there has been a “negative shift” in Israeli perceptions of China following the superpower’s reaction to the conflict.

“Academic and scientific cooperation between the two countries had been quite positive and effective until the conflict began,” he said. “However, public sentiment in both nations has since soured, and Israelis are increasingly wary of cooperation with China, including in the academic sphere.”

Since 2012, the Israeli government has been sponsoring Chinese students and postdoctoral researchers to study in Israel and conduct joint research programmes. 

In 2018, there were 1,000 Chinese students in Israel’s higher education institutions and about 500 Israelis studying in China, according to a senior official in Israel’s Council for Higher Education quoted in Chinese state media. 

Like others in the West, Israeli institutions are also under pressure from the US government to take a more cautious approach to scientific collaboration with China, Dr Afterman said. 

“Combined with the perception in Israel that China is siding with its enemies, this does not foster an encouraging environment for continued cooperation, at least for now,” he said. 

Speaking to Times Higher Education, Israeli academics have warned that declining international exchange and collaboration is damaging research in the country and hampering the progression of early career scholars. 

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com