China labels Israeli-occupied lands as ‘high risk area,’ bans all new investments: Report

A Chinese investment fund has revealed that the Beijing government has imposed a ban on all new investment in Israeli-occupied lands due to the regime’s brutal aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip. 

The news emerged in Israeli media outlets amid a lawsuit filed by members of Kibbutz Hanita against Ballet Vision, a Chinese-controlled fund that holds an 80% stake in Hanita Lenses, an intraocular lens manufacturing plant located in the northern part of the occupied lands near the Lebanese border. 

Israeli settlers from the kibbutz have filed a lawsuit against the fund, which controls 80 percent of an intraocular lens plant located in the northern settlement.

A lawsuit filed in the Tel Aviv district court shows the kibbutz is seeking approximately $11 million, accusing the fund of failing to exercise an option to purchase their remaining shares, as stipulated in a prior agreement.

According to a response letter from Ballet attached to the lawsuit, the Chinese government has classified Israeli-occupied lands as a "high-risk area" or "red category" due to the ongoing situation in the West Asia region, specifically since Oct. 7, 2023.

“Since the outbreak of the fighting, the Chinese government has classified Israel as a high-risk zone (red category) and prohibited any new Chinese investment in the Israeli-occupied lands,” it said in the letter.

The letter further says that until the restriction is lifted, the transaction is not feasible.

“As long as this restriction remains in place, there is no practical operational ability to exercise the option,” it added

Aside from the Chinese government's ban on investing in Israeli-occupied territories, Ballet says Hanita Lenses incurred significant operational losses.

Liu Yuxiao, a director of Ballet Vision and CEO of the lens manufacturing plant, earlier said that Hanita Lenses sustained losses of around $15 million over a period of three years, as well as a $4 million debt. This resulted in severe financial issues.

Yuxiao said he became the CEO in March last year to try to prevent total collapse, and added that the company may now break even in 2026.

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The developments also come as ties between the two sides were deteriorating over the self-ruling island of Taiwan, which has been looking to the Zionist entity for increased military cooperation.

China has already warned Israel against providing military expertise and technology to Taiwan under the guise of civilian programs. 

Tel Aviv is reportedly assisting Taipei with integrating elements of its Green Pine and Arrow systems in order to develop the Tian Gong-4 missile system, which will be part of the T-Dome network. 

The military cooperation comes despite ongoing Chinese warnings that it would not tolerate Israeli ties with the island, which it considers a renegade province.

Taiwan wants to deepen its ties with Israel and its administration has refrained from condemning the Tel Aviv regime's crimes in the besieged Gaza Strip and other occupied Palestinian territories.

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