China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: Red Sea crisis ‘a big challenge’ for Beijing, says ambassador
- Liao Liqiang, the country’s ambassador to Egypt, told a panel discussion in Beijing that attacks on shipping ‘had a real impact on us’
- The Houthis have said they will not target Chinese ships, but trade with the US and Europe is being affected and the country has extensive investments in Suez
Liao Liqiang, the ambassador to Egypt, was speaking at a panel discussion on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top political advisory body.
He said: “The Red Sea has emerged as a big challenge and had a real impact on us. In this regard, the diplomatic front line, especially in Egypt, which owns the Suez Canal, [we are looking at] how we can launch in-depth research to serve domestic high-quality development and put forward more pragmatic proposals for our foreign trade.”
10:26
Yemen’s Houthi fighters behind Red Sea attacks threaten to disrupt global trade
Although the Houthis have said they will not target Chinese shipping, the disruption to trade is still having an effect on the world’s biggest exporter. The internationalised nature of the industry also means attacks on shipping could still directly or indirectly harm Chinese interests.
According to a report by the Bank of China last month, China’s shipping trade to Europe and the US east coast will be affected, especially the European vehicle trade.
China’s state-owned shipping monopoly China Ocean Shipping Company also suspended shipments to Israel through the Red Sea in January.
China has extensive investments in the region, especially in Egypt, which are being threatened by the ongoing crisis in the Red Sea.
Multiple multibillion-dollar deals from Chinese logistics, transport and energy firms have flowed into Egypt, especially the Suez Canal, in recent years.
2 Filipinos, 1 Vietnamese among crew killed in Houthi missile attack in Red Sea
Major agreements signed last year include a US$6.75 billion deal between Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone and state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation to develop green ammonia and green hydrogen projects, and a US$8 billion agreement with Hong Kong-listed United Energy Group to establish a potassium chloride production site.
Beijing has so far not publicly deployed any forces to protect its shipping in the Red Sea although some of its warships were deployed to the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia last month.
The defence ministry said they were conducting “regular escort operations” that had “nothing to do with the current regional situation”.
China has also had limited public diplomatic engagement with Middle Eastern officials since the start of the Red Sea crisis, despite appeals from the United States to get more involved.
Last month, Wang Di, director general of the foreign ministry’s West Asian and North African affairs department, travelled to Saudi Arabia and Oman to meet officials from those two countries as well as Yemeni government representatives.
03:21
US-led coalition strikes Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen
During Tuesday’s panel discussion, ambassador Liao, who is also a member of the CPPCC, said the US stance on the Gaza war had seen its “moral image decay”, while Arab nations had welcomed Beijing’s role in “upholding justice”.
He also pledged to work to improve connections with African and Arab countries and said he would work to promote China’s governance model to the developing world by highlighting its experiences of “getting rid of poverty” and “green development”.
