China Iran Relations: China asks Iran to rein in Houthis after Saudi Arabia seeks help: Report

File photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping

China has privately asked Tehran to use its influence over Yemen’s Houthis to help rein in the Iran-backed group after Saudi Arabia appealed to Beijing for help, according to three Iranian sources familiar with the matter quoted by Reuters.The appeal came after the Houthis made rapid advances along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait over the past week, leaving Saudi oil exports and shipping more exposed, the sources said.China has publicly called for restraint, dialogue and the restoration of safe navigation. But its private message to Tehran went further, with Beijing asking Iran to help prevent the conflict from spreading across energy routes on which China, the world’s second-largest economy, depends.The Iranian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say how the message was delivered or whether it was conveyed during Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi’s visit to China on Wednesday.They said Tehran responded that stability and peace in the region depended on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran.Chinese officials did not issue explicit threats or indicate that Beijing would impose economic pressure on Tehran if it failed to use its influence over the Houthis, the sources said.In response to a Reuters request for comment, China’s foreign ministry said, “China 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 any party.”“The sovereignty and security of all countries should be respected, and facilities vital to people’s livelihoods must not be targeted. China calls for an end to actions that further complicate the situation and urges resolving issues through dialogue and negotiation,” it added.

China’s stakes in Iran and the Gulf

China has been Iran’s largest trading partner for more than a decade and remains its main buyer of oil. Chinese purchases accounted for more than 80% of Iran’s seaborne oil exports in 2025, averaging about 1.4 million barrels per day.“Beijing is one of the few capitals that can still press Iran to rein in the Houthis,” a senior Western diplomat in the region said.The Houthis emerged in the 1990s in opposition to Saudi Arabia’s Sunni religious influence in Yemen and are armed, trained and funded by Iran, according to Iranian sources and Western countries. They form part of Tehran’s anti-Western, anti-Israel “Axis of Resistance”.Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said China’s interests in the Middle East went beyond its relationship with Iran.Roughly half of China’s oil imports come from the region, while trade between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council states totals around $300 billion a year.“Iran can disrupt Hormuz. But at some point that leverage begins hurting the very power Tehran increasingly depends on,” Vatanka said.

Red Sea adds to energy supply risks

The Houthi advances and attacks on Saudi Arabia have added another pressure point to an energy market already disrupted by the wider war.The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively shut since Iran began blocking the waterway, while sustained Houthi attacks on vessels or ports in the Red Sea could disrupt another major route for Middle Eastern oil exports.The Strait of Hormuz carried about 20% of global oil and LNG supplies before the conflict. It also reported that a prolonged closure of Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline could affect as much as 4% of global oil supply.Brent crude was around $108 a barrel on Wednesday, while US retail diesel prices crossed $6.30 a gallon. Oil prices later fell in early Thursday trade after reports that Saudi Arabia was offering additional crude cargoes through Oman.The Houthis have also claimed fresh drone and missile attacks on Saudi targets.Their military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had targeted the Red Sea oil port of Yanbu and an airbase at Khamis Mushait, news agency AP reported. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed those claims.

Beijing’s leverage faces a test

It remains unclear whether Tehran will act on Beijing’s concerns, according to Iranian sources.China has demonstrated diplomatic influence in the region before. In 2023, Beijing brokered an agreement that restored diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia after years of hostility.But the relationship also faces limitations. Critics in 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’s growing investment commitments in Gulf Arab states.China is among the few countries with the financial capacity to invest in Iran’s oil industry and ease pressure on its economy, the Iranian sources said.“Tehran and Beijing need each other. China is a factor Tehran cannot ignore, and Beijing wants Hormuz reopened and Red Sea shipping secured,” the Western diplomat said.The key question, according to analysts cited by Reuters, is whether China is prepared to attach consequences to its demands and use its economic and diplomatic leverage over Tehran.