China–Yemen relations refer to the bilateral relations of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(PRC) and

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. The two countries established formal diplomatic relations in 1956 and signed a treaty of friendship in 1958, with an agreement to cooperate in commercial, technical and cultural development.

History

Yemen established formal diplomatic relations with the PRC on 24 September 1956 and was the third Arab country to do so. China and Yemen also entered into trade agreements and cultural agreements at that time. As part of its strategy of countering Soviet influence in the region, China provided aid to both

North Yemen North Yemen () is a term used to describe the Kingdom of Yemen (1918-1962), the Yemen Arab Republic (1962-1990), and the regimes that preceded them and exercised sovereignty over that region of Yemen. Its capital was Sanaa from 1918 to 1948 an ...

and

South Yemen South Yemen, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, abbreviated to Democratic Yemen, was a country in South Arabia that existed in what is now southeast Yemen from 1967 until Yemeni unification, its unification with the Yemen A ...

. In a 1958 agreement, China issued Yemen an interest-free loan of 70 million Swiss francs with which Yemen could purchase supplies from China. At the same time, the city of

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

provided an interest-free loan of $16.3 million to help fund development projects in Yemen. Another treaty of friendship was signed on June 9, 1964, along with additional agreements of cooperation in economic, technical and cultural development. China provided support in building factories and roads, and Beijing provided Yemen another interest-free loan, in the amount of $500,000. From 2000 through 2014, Yemen was the top recipient of

Chinese foreign aid Chinese foreign aid may be considered as both governmental (official) and private development aid and humanitarian aid originating from the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Chinese official aid - unlike most major nation-state sources of ...

in the Middle East, receiving approximately US$282 million during that period. Yemen participates in the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF). When the Yemeni civil war began in 2015, China evacuated 600 Chinese from Yemen. This event contributed to Chinese concerns about regional stability. Along with the earlier evacuation of Chinese citizens from Libya, it contributed to the decision to develop the People's Liberation Army Support Base in Djibouti to facilitate future evacuations from conflicts in the region. Discussions in CASCF regarding Yemen increased following the outbreak of the Civil War, with the 2016 CASCF declaration calling for Yemen's unity and territorial integrity and opposing foreign interference in Yemen's internal affairs. In 2018, CASCF emphasized the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and called for increased humanitarian and medical assistance for the Yemeni people. In 2016, Yemen expressed support for China's position on

territorial disputes in the South China Sea Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), and Vietnam have conflicting island and maritime claims in the South China Sea. The disputes involve the islands, reefs, banks, ...

. China provided US$22.5 million in relief to the Yemeni government in 2017. Between 2017 and 2020, China provided more than 11,700 tons of food. In June 2020, Yemen was one of 53 countries that backed the Hong Kong national security law at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Chinese diplomatic discourses generally avoid criticizing the Houthis by name. China typically makes its criticisms of the Houthi movement via indirect statements, which condemn actions without specifically naming the party responsible. During the Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in response to the

Gaza War The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, China stated that the

Houthis The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadersh ...

should respect the navigation rights of the merchant ships of all countries in the Red Sea in accordance with international law and "immediately cease their acts of harassment." China requested that

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

use its influence with the Houthi movement in attempt to restrain Houthi attacks on civilian ships. The U.S. government accused China of assisting the Houthis by providing them with

geospatial intelligence In the United States, geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) is intelligence about the human activity on Earth derived from the exploitation and analysis of imagery, signals, or signatures with geospatial information. GEOINT describes, assesses, and visu ...

for ship targeting via the Chang Guang Satellite Technology Corporation. After the 2024 floods in Hadramaut Governorate, China provided medical and relief materials including ventilators, defibrillators, x-ray equipment, and more. Effective 1 December 2024, China eliminated tariffs for goods imported from all of the countries that the United Nations categorizes as least developed and with which China has diplomatic relations, including Yemen.

Economic relations

Chinese state-owned enterprises in the energy sector, CNPC,

SINOPEC China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Group, is a Chinese oil and gas enterprise based in Chaoyang District, Beijing. The SASAC administers China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation for the benefit of State Council of the ...

, and CNOOC have operations in Yemen. SINOHYDRO has completed projects in Yemen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:China-Yemen relations

Bilateral relations of Yemen

History

Economic relations

See also

References