On Nov. 22, China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun laid out Beijing’s vision for Yemen’s post-conflict future. In an official statement, Zhang Jun called upon the international community to provide “tailored assistance” to improve the living conditions of the Yemeni people and highlighted Yemen as a case for China’s position that development is an effective pathway to peace and stability for countries facing internal conflicts.

Zhang Jun’s statement on Yemen was noteworthy because it was more specific than Beijing’s traditionally ambiguous calls for intra-Yemeni dialogue and a political solution to the Yemen war. The Chinese representative’s comments coincide with a broader expansion of China’s involvement in Yemen. As China possesses comprehensive strategic partnerships with Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China has cautiously supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government, while maintaining lines of communication with the Houthis and the Southern Transitional Council (STC). China has leveraged these close diplomatic ties with Yemen’s warring factions to expand its economic presence in Yemen and in turn further consolidate its influence on the Red Sea.

Since the initial stages of Yemen's civil war, China has officially supported President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s legitimacy. China voted for UNSC Resolution 2216 in April 2015, which condemned the Houthi coup d’etat, and concurred with Saudi Arabia’s position on the unity and sovereignty of Yemen in a January 2016 joint statement. Chinese officials have also regularly met with members of Hadi’s coalition, such as Vice President Ali Mohsen Saleh, and engaged diplomatically with al-Islah, the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. China’s position on the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen lies somewhere between the Russian and the US positions, as it has refused to emulate Moscow’s criticisms of Saudi conduct but also expressed greater skepticism than US policymakers about the military campaign’s viability.

In spite of its support for Hadi’s legitimacy, China has also cultivated cordial relations with the Houthis and the STC. Mareb al-Ward, a Yemeni journalist who closely follows China’s relationship with Yemen, told Al-Monitor that Chinese Ambassador to Yemen Kang Yong meets regularly with Houthi representatives. Ward noted that China’s support for republican forces during the 1962-1970 north Yemen civil war has helped create bonds with the Houthis, as Beijing has described north Yemen’s republicans as “Houthi ancestors” in informal diplomatic discourse. China has leveraged its cordial relations with Houthi representatives to convince the Houthis to accept a power-sharing agreement with the Hadi government instead of creating parallel state institutions.