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DUBAI, Sept 17 (Reuters): China has privately asked Tehran to help rein in Yemen\u2019s Houthis after an appeal to Beijing by Saudi Arabia following the Iran-backed group\u2019s military blitz in the past week, according to three Iranian sources familiar with \u200bthe matter.<\/strong><\/p>\n Riyadh turned to China for help after the Houthis made rapid advances along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, moves that have left Saudi oil exports and \u200cshipping more exposed, the sources said.<\/p>\n China has publicly called for restraint, dialogue and the restoration of safe navigation, but its private message went further than the public statements, they said.<\/p>\n Beijing wants Iran to use its influence with the Houthis to help prevent the conflict spreading further across energy routes on which China, the world\u2019s second-largest economy, depends.<\/p>\n The sources, who were briefed on the discussions and spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide details of how the message was delivered or whether it was conveyed during a visit to China \u200bon Wednesday by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.<\/p>\n The sources said Tehran\u2019s response was that stability and peace in the region depend on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran.<\/p>\n Chinese officials did not issue any explicit threats \u200bor indicate that Beijing would seek to pressure Tehran economically if it failed to use its influence over the Houthis, the three Iranian sources said.<\/p>\n In response to a \u2060Reuters request for comment on this story, the Chinese foreign ministry said: \u201cChina does not wish to see regional tensions further spill over into Yemen and the Red Sea. Escalating regional instability is not in the interests of \u200bany party\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sovereignty and security of all countries should be respected, and facilities vital to people\u2019s livelihoods must not be targeted. China calls for an end to actions that further complicate the situation and urges resolving issues through dialogue \u200band negotiation,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign ministry and the Saudi government\u2019s media office did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment for this article.<\/p>\n China has been Iran\u2019s largest trading partner for more than a decade and remains the main buyer of its oil. Chinese purchases accounted for more than 80% of Iran\u2019s seaborne oil exports in 2025, averaging about 1.4 million barrels per day, according to commodities data and analytics firm Kpler.<\/p>\n \u201cBeijing is one of the few capitals that can still \u200bpress Iran to rein in the Houthis,\u201d said a senior Western diplomat in the region.<\/p>\n The Houthis, who emerged in the 1990s in opposition to Saudi Arabia\u2019s Sunni religious influence in Yemen, are armed, trained and funded by Iran, \u200baccording to Iranian sources and Western countries, and form part of Tehran\u2019s anti-Western, anti-Israel \u201cAxis of Resistance\u201d.<\/p>\n Any threat by the Houthis to shipping in the Red Sea and through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait risks sharply worsening the global energy crisis since Iran started \u200cblocking the Strait \u2060of Hormuz and increasing the danger of a wider regional conflict.<\/p>\n With Hormuz already effectively shut, sustained Houthi attacks on vessels or ports in the Red Sea would disrupt the Middle East\u2019s two main oil-export routes simultaneously, opening a new front in both the energy crisis and Iran\u2019s broader confrontation with the United States.<\/p>\n Iran and its allies now exert pressure over both ends of the region\u2019s key maritime network, one of the sources said, adding that \u201cChina depends on both\u201d.<\/p>\n Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said Beijing may oppose US pressure on Tehran, but its interests in the Middle East extend well beyond Iran. Roughly half of China\u2019s oil \u200bimports come from the region, while trade between China and \u200bthe Gulf Cooperation Council states totals around $300 billion \u2060a year.<\/p>\n \u201cIran can disrupt Hormuz. But at some point that leverage begins hurting the very power Tehran increasingly depends on,\u201d Vatanka said.<\/p>\n It is unclear whether Tehran will act on the concerns raised by Beijing, according to the three Iranian sources.<\/p>\n The relationship nevertheless carries significant economic and strategic weight for Iran as it continues to face hostilities \u200bwith the US, they said.<\/p>\n China is among the few countries with the financial capacity to provide the investment Tehran needs to sustain its oil industry and \u200bease pressure on its economy, battered by \u2060war and sanctions.<\/p>\n Beijing has also demonstrated its diplomatic influence. In 2023, China brokered the agreement that restored ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia after years of hostility.<\/p>\n That influence has limits, however. Critics inside Iran have complained about the relatively modest level of Chinese non-oil trade and investment since the two countries signed a 25-year cooperation pact in 2021, particularly compared with China\u2019s growing investment commitments in Gulf Arab states.<\/p>\n China remains a factor Tehran cannot afford to ignore, but two of the \u2060Iranian sources said \u200bBeijing\u2019s interests were only one consideration among many. Iran\u2019s decisions are shaped by competing strategic, economic and political priorities, they said.<\/p>\n \u201cTehran and \u200bBeijing need each other. China is a factor Tehran cannot ignore, and Beijing wants Hormuz reopened and Red Sea shipping secured,\u201d the Western diplomat said.<\/p>\n Analysts say the key test will be whether China is prepared to attach consequences to its demands. Ultimately, they say, the clearest sign \u200bof Beijing\u2019s resolve would be evidence that it is willing to use its leverage over Tehran.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nDANGERS OF A WIDER REGIONAL WAR<\/h2>\n
CHINA\u2019S DILEMMA<\/h2>\n