Chinese academic's remarks at forum misrepresented as official response to 'Israeli threat'

"Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu threatens China, and a Chinese spokesperson responds in the Philippines", reads text above a video shared on TikTok on September 29, 2025. Malay-language sticker text reads: "Are they brave enough to go to war with China?"

The clip shows a man speaking at a podium, referring to China's military capability and saying it is only matched by that of the United States.

At the beginning of the clip, the man says: "Mr. Abrams also challenged me, saying that China's military buildup is a challenge, a threat to our neighbouring countries".

He then goes on to say: "I hope Washington has learned the lesson. If you want to have war, you will get war."

The clip ends with him saying: "China will not fire the first shot, but China will not allow you to fire the second shot."

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Screenshot of the false post taken on October 15, 2025 with a red X added by AFP

China recognises the Palestinian state, and has been critical of Israel's military operation in Gaza (archived here and here).

The clip started circulating after Netanyahu alleged during a speech on September 15 that China was among a few states organising an attack on Israel's legitimacy (archived link).

In response, a spokesperson for China's embassy in Israel said in a statement it was "shocked" by Netanyahu's remarks, and that his claim was "groundless, undermines China-Israel relations, and is something that China is deeply concerned about and firmly opposed to" (archived link).

The spokesperson went on to say China hopes for the "peaceful coexistence of all countries in the region, and for peace, stability and common prosperity in the region", but did not mention anything about Beijing's military might.

Similar clips of a purported Chinese spokesperson's response were shared elsewhere on TikTok and in Singapore. But it actually shows Gao, vice-president of the Center for China and Globalization think tank, speaking at a forum in Manila, where he does not mention Netanyahu's remarks.

Speech in Manila

A reverse image search led to a Chinese-language post on X from September 29 that shared the same video of Gao's speech, with a caption calling his remarks "strategic intimidation" -- a fictional term used by online users to present overly optimistic military commentary related to Chinese matters (archived link).

The clip also has simplified Chinese text in the top-right corner reading "China-Philippines relations forum, Manila, Philippines. September 17, 2025".

A subsequent Google keyword search led to a YouTube video of the full, four-hour-long Manila Forum for Philippines-China Relations, which was held on the day (archived link).

Gao's speech covers China-Philippines and Philippines-US bilateral relations, the US tariff war, and China's military capability, among others. However, he does not mention Israel or Netanyahu at any point in his talk.

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Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the YouTube video

The circulating clip has also been edited and shows Gao's speech out of order. 

In the original speech, Gao begins by talking about how he believes China and the United States have to resolve their conflict peacefully. "Between nuclear powered states, you never fight a war, because if you fight a war you will have MAD, mutually assured destruction... China and the United States eventually will need to live in peace," Gao says. 

The part of Gao's speech seen in the latter half of the circulating clip begins after this, at the original video's 1:07:42 mark.

He talks about China's hydrogen bomb capabilities before he mentions his debate on US-China relations on Saudi news network Al Arabiya with American politician Elliot Abrams, who has advised on foreign policy to US presidents including Donald Trump (archived here and here).

Gao says he warned Abrams: "I basically told him if you want to have war, you will get war." 

Meanwhile, Gao's remarks about Abram's comments on China's military buildup seen at the beginning of the clip actually begin after, at the 1:09:47 mark of the YouTube broadcast of the forum. 

He goes on to say that he hopes that he can encourage China and the Philippines to "look at ourselves as friends, rather than as enemies". 

Gao's speech at the Manila Forum was also covered by the Philippine media, who noted he had urged the Southeast Asian country to maintain balanced ties with both China and the United States (archived here and here).