In this episode, we confront a critical "blind spot" in the Israeli (and too often broader Western) consciousness: The role of the People’s Republic of China as the silent architect behind the Middle East’s most volatile threats. Guest Melissa Chen, managing director at Strategy Risks, pulls back the curtain on a sobering reality where China acts as the sole guarantor of Iran’s survival, bypassing global sanctions to fuel a regime that mirrors its own anti-Western ambitions.

From the export of advanced repression technologies that stifle domestic dissent in Tehran to the algorithmic amplification of antisemitism on platforms like TikTok, Chen argues that the "Axis of Resistance" is increasingly powered by Chinese infrastructure. Our conversation is a reflective warning on the nature of "unrestricted warfare," where the battlefield has shifted from kinetic borders to the granular data in our electric vehicles and the hearts and minds of a polarized West. It is a necessary, albeit chilling, look at how a regime thousands of miles away has become a central, malign actor in the survival of the Jewish state and the stability of the liberal world order.

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Today, as Israel recovers from the devastation of war, it needs the Technion more than ever.

Technion scientists are developing new energy sources, sustainable food and water solutions, and breakthrough medical therapies—creating innovations for a better world that will also reboot Israel’s economy.

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The Technion built Israel. Now, the Technion will rebuild Israel. Join us. Visit ats.org/rebuild

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Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

Episode 91: Is the Iran war about China? A conversation with Melissa Chen

Ask Haviv Anything

Episode 91: Is the Iran war about China? A conversation with Melissa Chen