عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Interviews

China Backs Yemeni Gov’t, Engages Houthis, Opposes Red Sea Attacks

Shao Zheng, Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Yemen. (Photo Credit: Bashir Saleh)
Shao Zheng, Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Yemen. (Photo Credit: Bashir Saleh)
TT
TT

China Backs Yemeni Gov’t, Engages Houthis, Opposes Red Sea Attacks

Shao Zheng, Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Yemen. (Photo Credit: Bashir Saleh)
Shao Zheng, Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Yemen. (Photo Credit: Bashir Saleh)

A Chinese diplomat announced that Beijing is working with the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, the five permanent UN Security Council members, and other key parties to push the Yemen peace plan forward.

The diplomat urged Yemeni factions to negotiate and quickly sign a peace agreement.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Shao Zheng, Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Yemen, said China is in contact with the Houthis and other Yemeni parties. He also called for an end to attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

The Chinese diplomat praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts for peace in Yemen, calling them “positive.” Zheng mentioned that he has met Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al-Jaber, many times, referring to him as “a dear friend.”

He disclosed that China is planning to work with regional countries to quickly achieve peace in the Red Sea region.

Zheng clarified that China’s military base in Djibouti is not currently involved in Red Sea operations.

He highlighted that the Chinese navy has protected 7,200 ships in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast over the past 15 years, with the involvement of 35,000 Chinese soldiers.

Addressing recent US sanctions on Chinese companies accused of supplying military materials to the Houthis, Zheng stated that Beijing opposes these sanctions.

He emphasized that China has strict controls on exporting military and civilian products, calling the sanctions “unilateral and without Security Council approval.”

Moreover, the ambassador expressed optimism about the future of Chinese-Yemeni relations, calling them “bright” and highlighting successful cooperation in various fields over the years.

“This year marks the 68th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Yemen. We’ve seen fruitful cooperation in political and economic areas. Both countries support each other regionally and internationally,” Zheng told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“We are confident in a bright future for our relations and can enhance cooperation through initiatives like the Belt and Road” Initiative, he affirmed.

During his recent visit to Yemen, his third in a year, Zheng visited Hadhramaut and Aden, where he attended the arrival of Chinese medical aid, including over 1,000 medical items and 10 ambulances.

“I saw significant local progress, like improved internet speeds, but Yemen still faces challenges such as electricity generation,” noted Zheng.

“In Aden, I met with the prime minister and other government officials for extensive discussions on bilateral relations and the situation in Yemen. We support the legitimate government and the Presidential Leadership Council,” he added.

The Chinese diplomat reaffirmed China’s opposition to military attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

“We must ensure the Red Sea’s security and make our position clear to the Houthis and other parties. The Red Sea crisis has lasted nearly six months, causing significant losses. We call for an end to these attacks,” said Zheng.

“China believes the Red Sea crisis is linked to the conflict in Gaza. We urge immediate peace in Gaza and humanitarian aid to prevent the crisis from spreading,” he added.

On a recent Houthi attack on a Chinese ship, Zheng said China is closely monitoring the Red Sea situation.

“The foreign shipping market is complex, and identifying a ship’s nationality can be difficult. We urge an end to attacks on commercial vessels to avoid disrupting global supply chains,” he said.

“The international community must ensure Red Sea peace according to international law. Civilians must not be targeted.”

“We must achieve peace in Gaza, respect the sovereignty of Red Sea countries like Yemen, and raise security awareness among commercial ships,” asserted Zheng.

Most Viewed

 
 
Interviews

Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
TT
TT

Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich has told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US does not plan to withdraw its forces from Syria.

The US is committed to “the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with,” he said.

Here is the full text of the interview.

Question: Mr. Goldrich, thank you so much for taking the time to sit with us today. I know you are leaving your post soon. How do you assess the accomplishments and challenges remaining?

Answer: Thank you very much for the chance to talk with you today. I've been in this position for three years, and so at the end of three years, I can see that there's a lot that we accomplished and a lot that we have left to do. But at the beginning of a time I was here, we had just completed a review of our Syria policy, and we saw that we needed to focus on reducing suffering for the people in Syria. We needed to reduce violence. We needed to hold the regime accountable for things that are done and most importantly, from the US perspective, we needed to keep ISIS from reemerging as a threat to our country and to other countries. At the same time, we also realized that there wouldn't be a solution to the crisis until there was a political process under resolution 2254, so in each of these areas, we've seen both progress and challenges, but of course, on ISIS, we have prevented the reemergence of the threat from northeast Syria, and we've helped deal with people that needed to be repatriated out of the prisons, and we dealt with displaced people in al-Hol to reduce the numbers there. We helped provide for stabilization in those parts of Syria.

Question: I want to talk a little bit about the ISIS situation now that the US troops are still there, do you envision a timeline where they will be withdrawn? Because there were some reports in the press that there is a plan from the Biden administration to withdraw.

Answer: Yeah. So right now, our focus is on the mission that we have there to keep ISIS from reemerging. So I know there have been reports, but I want to make clear that we remain committed to the role that we play in that part of Syria, to the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with, and to the need to prevent that threat from reemerging.

Question: So you can assure people who are saying that you might withdraw, that you are remaining for the time being?

Answer: Yes, and that we remain committed to this mission which needs to continue to be pursued.

Question: You also mentioned the importance of humanitarian aid. The US has been leading on this. Are you satisfied with where you are today on the humanitarian front in Syria?

Answer: We remain committed to the role that we play to provide for humanitarian assistance in Syria. Of the money that was pledged in Brussels, we pledged $593 million just this past spring, and we overall, since the beginning of the conflict, have provided $18 billion both to help the Syrians who are inside of Syria and to help the refugees who are in surrounding countries. And so we remain committed to providing that assistance, and we remain keenly aware that 90% of Syrians are living in poverty right now, and that there's been suffering there. We're doing everything we can to reduce the suffering, but I think where we would really like to be is where there's a larger solution to the whole crisis, so Syrian people someday will be able to provide again for themselves and not need this assistance.

Question: And that's a perfect key to my next question. Solution in Syria. you are aware that the countries in the region are opening up to Assad again, and you also have the EU signaling overture to the Syrian regime and Assad. How do you deal with that?

Answer: For the United States, our policy continues to be that we will not normalize with the regime in Syria until there's been authentic and enduring progress on the goals of resolution 2254, until the human rights of the Syrian people are respected and until they have the civil and human rights that they deserve. We know other countries have engaged with the regime. When those engagements happen, we don't support them, but we remind the countries that are engaged that they should be using their engagements to push forward on the shared international goals under 2254, and that whatever it is that they're doing should be for the sake of improving the situation of the Syrian people.

Question: Let's say that all of the countries decided to talk to Assad, aren’t you worried that the US will be alienated in the process?

Answer: The US will remain true to our own principles and our own policies and our own laws, and the path for the regime in Syria to change its relationship with us is very clear, if they change the behaviors that led to the laws that we have and to the policies that we have, if those behaviors change and the circumstances inside of Syria change, then it's possible to have a different kind of relationship, but that's where it has to start.

Question: My last question to you before you leave, if you have to pick one thing that you need to do in Syria today, what is it that you would like to see happening today?

Answer: So there are a number of things, I think that will always be left and that there are things that we will try to do, to try to make them happen. We want to hold people accountable in Syria for things that have happened. So even today, we observed something called the International Day for victims of enforced disappearances, there are people that are missing, and we're trying to draw attention to the need to account for the missing people. So our step today was to sanction a number of officials who were responsible for enforced disappearances, but we also created something called the independent institution for missing persons, and that helps the families, in the non-political way, get information on what's happened. So I'd like to see some peace for the families of the missing people. I'd like to see the beginning of a political process, there hasn't been a meeting of the constitutional committee in two years, and I think that's because the regime has not been cooperating in political process steps. So we need to change that situation. And I would, of course, like it's important to see the continuation of the things that we were talking about, so keeping ISIS from reemerging and maintaining assistance as necessary in the humanitarian sphere. So all these things, some of them are ongoing, and some of them remain to be achieved. But the Syrian people deserve all aspects of our policy to be fulfilled and for them to be able to return to a normal life.