President,

I wish to thank Special Envoy Hans Grundberg and Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya for their briefings. I welcome the representative of Yemen at today’s meeting. 

Recently, tensions in Yemen and the Red Sea have increased with the risk of further escalation. The Houthis and Israel continue to attack each other, and the United States and Israel frequently strike Yemen from the air. China reiterates that military means are not the way out, and that violence for violence will only drive the conflict into a vicious circle of spiraling escalation. The Houthis should stop harassing commercial vessels and safeguard the safety of shipping lanes in the Red Sea. The relevant countries should stop air strikes against Yemen and effectively respect Yemen’s sovereignty, security, and territory integrity. All parties concerned should remain calm and exercise restraint, and avoid actions that may escalate tensions. 

The political settlement of the Yemeni issue is the common expectation of the international community and the long-term goal of the Security Council. All Yemeni parties should actively respond to the call of the international community, shoulder their responsibilities, resume dialogue and communication, find the way out of a political impasse, and jointly advance a comprehensive political process that is Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned. Recently, Special Envoy Grundberg went to Yemen and regional countries for another round of mediation. China welcomes this and supports the Special Envoy in making greater efforts to promote mutual trust and forge consensus among all parties. 

The humanitarian situation in Yemen is worryingly dire. The international community should scale up assistance to Yemen. The United Nations should prioritize the implementation of projects such as food security, public health, and clean water to meet the most urgent needs of the people. Recently, the United Nations has strengthened the communication and coordination with relevant parties in an effort to improve humanitarian operations throughout Yemen and release all detainees. China commends the relevant efforts and the progress made. 

There is a strong census among Council members that a ceasefire in Gaza would help ease tensions in the Red Sea. Recently, there have been positive developments regarding a ceasefire in Gaza. The next few days will be critical to the trajectory of developments in Gaza. We hope that all parties will truly demonstrate political will and take concrete actions to turn the vision of a ceasefire in Gaza into reality, so as to bring hope to the suffering people in Gaza and create conditions for cooling down the precarious chaos in the Middle East. 

President, 

This is the first time this year for the Council to consider the Yemeni issue. We hope that with the concerted efforts of the international community, the situation in Yemen will improve in the new year and make new progress and take a new look. We are ready to work for the international community to continue to make relentless efforts for the political settlement of the Yemeni issue and peace and stability in the Middle East. 

Thank you, President.