اقرأ المحتوى باللغة العربية
Shao Zheng, the Chargé d’Affaires and acting ambassador of the Chinese Embassy to Yemen, called for an end to Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea during a call with local and international journalists. “China’s position on the Red Sea is very clear cut; it’s not ambiguous,” said Mr. Shao. “Any attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea should be stopped. The international community should safeguard the transit of ships in the Red Sea.”
The acting ambassador’s comments on July 24 came as part of the latest Yemen Media Call, a Sana’a Center program that invites members of the press to meet with politicians, diplomats, analysts, and other stakeholders to promote informed coverage of Yemen and the surrounding region.
Mr. Shao acknowledged the link between the war in Gaza and increased Houthi aggression in the region. “Efforts should be made to put an immediate stop to the Gaza conflict so that it does not spread further into the Red Sea.”
On the topic of Chinese diplomacy in the region, Mr. Shao said Beijing intends to continue its active mediation efforts. China helped broker a historic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2023, and last weekend, representatives from Hamas, Fatah, and 12 other Palestinian factions traveled to Beijing to sign a joint declaration agreeing to form a “national reconciliation government” that would hypothetically govern Gaza after the end of the current conflict. Related to Yemen, he noted that China supports the efforts of the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, to reach a peace agreement. “We should not let the current crisis go on indefinitely. The international community should work together to bring an end to the nine-year-long war,” Mr. Shao said.
The Media Call also discussed Yemen in relation to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure investment program aiming to reshape global trade flows. Chinese investment and aid to Yemen increased both prior to and during the ongoing war, but Mr. Shao was quick to dismiss reports that a Chinese petroleum company had agreed to oil exploration deals with Houthi authorities in Sana’a. Mr. Shao noted that a private Chinese company mistakenly signed a false contract, and “as soon as they discovered that they were cheated, they issued a statement and abolished the agreement.”
Mr. Shao also commented on the recent Israeli airstrikes against the port of Hudaydah, calling for deescalation, particularly concerning “attacks on humanitarian facilities, ports, and oil facilities, as this has a major impact on the livelihoods of people in Yemen.”
The Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies is an independent think tank that seeks to foster change through knowledge production, with a focus on Yemen and the surrounding region. The Center’s publications and programs, offered in Arabic and English, cover political, social, economic, and security developments, aiming to impact policy locally, regionally, and internationally.