China urges ceasefire and dialog as Yemen truce collapses

China has urged all parties in Yemen to reach a ceasefire at an early date and settle their differences through dialog, warning that the country's situation has reached a critical juncture.

Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Fu Cong, expressed concern over the heightened escalation of hostilities. He said the international community must sharpen its sense of urgency, hold firm to its commitment to peace and intensify efforts to help Yemen break its cycle of recurring turmoil and move toward lasting peace.

The Security Council convened as the renewed fighting effectively ended the relative calm Yemen had seen since a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities. The fragile four-year truce has now collapsed.

According to government and military officials, the Houthis seized Yemen's entire western coast and pushed their offensive beyond the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait into the southern province of Lahj, firing ballistic missiles at retreating government forces. The advance followed the group's capture of Mocha, a strategic Red Sea port city in southwestern Yemen.

The Houthis announced a ban on Saudi shipping on July 20 and have since claimed a series of attacks on Saudi tankers and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. The Bab al-Mandab Strait, which links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, is a major route for international trade and energy shipments.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

Fu stressed that Yemen's future and destiny should rest in the hands of the Yemeni people themselves, and that dialog and consultation must be vigorously advanced. China called on the parties to meet each other halfway, work together to de-escalate the situation and create conditions for a political settlement.

Reaffirming China's consistent support for upholding Yemen's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, Fu said Beijing stands ready to keep working with the international community toward a political settlement and for peace and development in the country. He said China will play a constructive role in promoting a comprehensive ceasefire, the start of national reconstruction and long-term stability, security, development and prosperity across the region.