China holds talks with Houthis to allow tankers via Red Sea

LONDON/DUBAI: China has held direct talks with Yemen's Houthi movement to enable its tankers to sail through the southern Red Sea without being attacked after the Iran-aligned militia pledged to prevent access to Saudi ports, six sources with knowledge of the matter said.

The Houthis declared their blockade on July 20, opening a new front against the US and its allies in the Iran war and expanding attacks on tankers carrying energy and other supplies to markets beyond the Middle East.

Beijing has asked the Houthis directly to promise safe passage for its tankers, according to the sources, who included a senior Iranian official.


China was among the first countries to contact the Houthis directly about transits through Bab el-Mandeb, the strait at the southern end of the Red Sea with Yemen on its eastern bank, said the sources, who declined to be identified.

Beijing is seeking to keep oil exports flowing from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea terminals, notably Yanbu, to help plug the gap in supplies caused by Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the exit from the Gulf.

China's foreign ministry, without confirming the talks, said it is closely following developments in the Red Sea, adding that the sovereignty and security of countries in the region should be respected.