Chinese envoy urges conflicting parties in Yemen to immediately end violence

UNITED NATIONS - A Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Wednesday called on conflicting parties in Yemen to immediately cease fire and end the violence plaguing the country.

"An early end to the conflict would mean saving more lives. All parties to the conflict should immediately cease fire, put an end to violence, exercising maximum restraint, and refrain from taking any actions that could lead to a complicated escalation of the situation," Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council briefing on Yemen.

Dai noted that China has paid great attention to letters from both the permanent representatives of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the president of the Security Council, sent respectively in December and January.

Saudi Arabia has condemned the Houthis attack on a store in the Saudi city of Jazan, which resulted in civilian casualties, and the UAE has reported on the seizure of an Emirati flagged cargo ship by the Houthis on the high seas of the Red Sea.

"China is deeply concerned about these reports. We have noticed that many countries in the region as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have expressed concern about seizure of the ship by the Houthis," the envoy said.

"China supports the Security Council in pronouncing on these developments and condemning all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructures. We hope that the relevant issues will be properly resolved as soon as possible, that the ship and its crew will be released, and that the maritime safety of the Red Sea and channels of international navigation will be maintained," he said.

"As the new year has just begun, the Yemeni people urgently need to gain confidence and hope for the future. We hope that all parties in Yemen will demonstrate good political will, engage the special envoy without conditions, exchange views candidly, and reach a realistic and feasible political solution at an early date. In this process, attention must be paid to the views of women, youth and other groups," Dai said.

"The Yemen issue concerns peace and stability in the Gulf region, and the regional situation also affects the situation in Yemen. China calls on regional countries to play an active role in promoting peace talks on the Yemen issue, as doing so serves the common interests of all parties," he said.