China’s increasing participation in Israeli infrastructure and port ventures, notably the Port of Haifa, has led Israeli security research centers to closely monitor the situation. There are worries that these Chinese investments could potentially allow Beijing to gather intelligence on Israeli military capabilities and US technological secrets, as per a report in ‘Modern Diplomacy’.
The Israeli Ministry of Defence and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Chief of the General Staff, Eyal Zamir, took action by removing hundreds of Chinese-manufactured vehicles from their officers in late 2025. This move was part of heightened security measures due to concerns about possible espionage on behalf of China.
Israeli security sources and the Mossad revealed that some Chinese vehicles were equipped with surveillance systems like cameras, microphones, sensors, and communication technologies. These systems could transmit data to external servers without the user’s control, prompting the IDF to withdraw and replace the Chinese-made vehicles used by its officers.
The Israeli military’s apprehensions primarily revolve around the potential exploitation of Chinese automotive technology to bolster Beijing’s digital espionage network. Security officials cautioned that the intelligence systems and proprietary software in these Chinese vehicles could gather sensitive data, including geographical information, through Chinese GPS tracking and monitoring satellites.
The Israeli Ministry of Defence had previously tried to mitigate risks by sanitizing multimedia systems in Chinese-made vehicles and deactivating specific functions in their computer systems. However, Israeli cyber experts determined that these measures were insufficient to prevent data breaches by Beijing, leading to the decision to withdraw all Chinese vehicles over espionage concerns.
