China is capitalizing on Hamas terrorist attacks

Last year, I visited
Israel
with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. I met wonderful Israelis, including at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, which was savaged by
Hamas
on Oct. 7, and was struck by how they lived under constant fear of attack each day. That constant dread became reality earlier this year, when Hamas
launched its brutal terrorist attacks
against Israel.

Following the horrific attacks on innocent Israeli citizens at the hands of Hamas terrorists, freedom-loving countries and moral people everywhere rightly condemned Hamas and shared their support for Israel. However, communist China did not let this crisis go to waste. The Chinese Communist Party capitalized on the death and destruction to prop up Hamas terrorists, gain favor from Iran and its proxies, and sow division within the United States.

In its first statement following the strikes, China urged both sides to “exercise restraint” and “remain calm” without so much as mentioning the innocent Israelis who were brutalized and murdered by Hamas terrorists. This did not come as a shock, given the CCP’s genocide against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

China’s conciliatory tone toward Hamas is part of its larger strategy to displace and undermine American global leadership, particularly in the developing world. China’s growing engagement in the Middle East has been calculated. From its predatory lending practices in African countries struggling with jihadi insurgents and armed militias to building significant trade relationships with anti-democratic dictators, the CCP has long been working to tip the global geopolitical scales in its favor.

Most concerning is the rising friendship between China and Iran, and both have a vested interest in seeing America’s foreign policy objectives fail. In true “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” fashion, China and Iran’s relationship capitalizes on their shared anti-Western ideologies. China is the No. 1 buyer of Iranian oil, meaning Iran gets to sell its oil and avoid U.S. sanctions while China gets to buy it at a discount, saving billions. Chinese ports serve as major destinations for Iranian tankers conducting illicit trade, also in violation of U.S. sanctions.

Shortly after Hamas’s terrorist attacks, the CCP dispatched diplomats across the Middle East. This was not only an attempt to cast itself as a peace broker on the world stage but to degrade America’s effective diplomacy in the region following the success of the Abraham Accords. Naturally, CCP diplomats discredited Hamas’s brutality and refused to condemn Iran, its major oil supplier and partner in chaos, and its influence and funding for Hamas.

China’s opportunistic response is not confined to Iran and its proxies in the Middle East. The CCP has also attempted to sow discord here at home in the U.S. The CCP has intentionally promoted anti-Israel, pro-Hamas content on TikTok, targeting young people who get their news from this dangerous app. The People’s Forum, a “nonprofit” organization with dubious ties to the CCP, is
reportedly
backing pro-Hamas protests across the U.S. in support of a ceasefire that would undermine Israel’s necessary ground offensive and American efforts to bring hostages home safely.

China has a vested interest in Iran, through its terrorist proxies, achieving its goal of destroying the Jewish state of Israel and eliminating America’s closest and most important ally in the region. We cannot allow the CCP to take the moral high ground publicly while actively supporting Hamas, meddling in American politics, and working to subvert U.S. diplomacy abroad. Standing with Israel means calling out the supporters and enablers of the Oct. 7 massacre — and anyone who refuses to denounce them.

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Ashley Hinson is a U.S. representative for Iowa and serves on the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee.