China on Friday said it is “playing a positive role to ease tensions” as the US accused a Chinese firm of helping Yemen’s Houthis attack American warships in the Red Sea.
A Chinese satellite company linked to the country’s military is supplying Houthis in Yemen with imagery to target US warships and international vessels in the Red Sea, according to American officials cited by the Financial Times.
The Trump administration has repeatedly warned Beijing that Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd. is providing the Houthis with the intelligence, but the concerns were ignored, the paper said, quoting American officials.
Asked for a response at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday, spokesperson Lin Jian said: “I’m not familiar with the specifics you mentioned. Since the situation in the Red Sea escalated, China has been playing a positive role to ease tensions.”
The spokesman instead accused the US of escalating tensions, referring to sanctions against the group and the bombing campaign it has launched since March 15.
“Who is promoting talks for peace and cooling down the situation, and who is heightening tensions with sanction and pressure? The answer is rather clear to the world,” the spokesman said. “China urges relevant countries to do what is conducive to regional peace and stability, not otherwise.”
The US launched airstrikes after the Houthis threatened to resume their attacks on regional shipping, citing Israel’s blockade on aid entering the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis, in solidarity with Gaza, targeted Israel-linked merchant vessels with missiles and drones, from November 2023 until January this year. They also launched attacks targeting US warships.