‘Beijing’s tacit support’ of Houthi attacks is ‘yet another example of China’s empty claims to support peace,’ senior US official says
A Chinese satellite company with ties to the Communist country’s military is providing imagery to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis to help target American warships and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, according to U.S. officials.
Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd. (CGSTL), a firm linked to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, has continued to supply the Houthis with satellite intelligence despite multiple warnings from the Trump administration, U.S. officials told the Financial Times. “The United States has raised our concerns privately numerous times to the Chinese government on [CGSTL’s] role in supporting the Houthis in order to get Beijing to take action,” a senior State Department official said.
The official described “Beijing’s tacit support” as “yet another example of China’s empty claims to support peace,” adding, “We urge our partners to judge the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese companies on their actions, not their empty words.”
The revelation adds fuel to the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing. Trump has announced 145 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, while Beijing has hit back by charging 125 percent tariffs on American goods.
The Trump administration in recent weeks has ramped up military action against the Houthis for repeatedly attacking American and Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, a crucial maritime trade route, since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October 2023.
“The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you,” Trump said. “Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran.”
CGSTL also came under U.S. scrutiny in 2023. The Chinese Communist Party-linked firm was sanctioned that December for allegedly providing satellite imagery to Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group involved in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The company “is one of a handful of ‘ostensibly’ commercial Chinese satellite companies that are in fact deeply embedded in [China’s] military-civil fusion ecosystem, supplying global surveillance capabilities to both civilian and military customers,” James Mulvenon, an expert on the Chinese military, told the Financial Times.