A satellite technology company in China with links to the country's military establishment is reportedly assisting Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen by supplying them with satellite imagery used to target American and foreign vessels in the Red Sea, according to senior US officials quoted by the Financial Times.
The firm in question, Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co Ltd (CGSTL), has been at the center of repeated US diplomatic complaints to Beijing. American officials assert that despite repeated efforts to raise the alarm, China has not taken steps to address the matter.
“The United States has raised our concerns privately numerous times to the Chinese government on Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co Ltd’s role in supporting the Houthis in order to get Beijing to take action,” a senior State Department official stated.
According to the official, Chinese authorities have “ignored” the warnings. Speaking to the Financial Times, the official said CGSTL’s ongoing operations, alongside what he called “Beijing’s tacit support,” served as “yet another example of China’s empty claims to support peace.”
“We urge our partners to judge the Chinese Communist party and Chinese companies on their actions, not their empty words,” he added.
“Beijing should take this priority seriously when considering any future support to CGSTL,” the U.S. official added.
When approached for comment, the Chinese Embassy in Washington claimed to be “not aware of the relevant situation.”
This is not the first time CGSTL has drawn scrutiny from Washington. In 2023, the firm was sanctioned for allegedly supplying high-resolution satellite images to Russia’s Wagner Group, aiding Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine.
Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea began following the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in late 2023, in the aftermath of the October 7 attack. The maritime assaults threaten a key global trade route and have prompted retaliatory strikes by US forces on Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen.
President Donald Trump recently stated that the Houthis would be “completely annihilated" and added that Iranian support would only impede but not stop the Houthis' destruction.
Trump later said that the Houthis now want peace because the US attacks on them have been very successful, while stressing that those strikes will continue for a very long time.