The U.S. State Department has dismissed communist China’s self-proclaimed role as a “global peacemaker,” saying a Chinese satellite company supported by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has directly supported the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group’s attacks on U.S. interests.
At a regular press briefing on April 17, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed that Chang Guang Satellite Technology (CGST) “is directly supporting” the Houthis and called such action “unacceptable.”
“China consistently attempts … to frame itself as a global peacemaker,” she said.
“However, it is clear that Beijing and China-based companies provide key economic and technical support to regimes like Russia, North Korea, and Iran and its proxies.
“The CCP continues to enable these regimes, whether it be through the provision of dual-use items Russia needs to sustain its war in Ukraine, North Korea’s ballistic missile development, or Iran’s support of terrorism across the Middle East.”
She said the Chinese satellite company’s assistance to the Houthis has continued even though the U.S. government has held “private engagements” with the Chinese regime on the issue.
“Their actions and Beijing’s support of the company … is yet another example of China’s empty claims to support peace,” Bruce said. “We urge our partners to judge the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese companies on their actions, not their empty words.”
She emphasized President Donald Trump’s commitment to restoring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea as a priority, noting that the United States “will not tolerate anyone providing support to foreign terrorist organizations.”
The U.S. military has been striking Houthi targets in Yemen since March 15, following Trump’s order with the promise of using “overwhelming lethal force” to restore navigational freedom in the region.
On April 17, the U.S. Central Command stated that the U.S. military had destroyed Yemen’s Ras Isa fuel port, saying it had been used by the Houthis as a source of funds and supplies, according to a statement on social media platform X.
“The Houthis, their Iranian masters, and those who knowingly aid and abet their terrorist actions should be put on notice that the world will not accept illicit smuggling of fuel and war material to a terrorist organization,” the command stated.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), who sits on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees, took to X on April 17 to respond to the news of the Chinese satellite company’s assistance to the Houthis, pointing to the alliance that has included Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Connect the dots: War Criminal Putin, the CCP, and the terrorist regime in Tehran all working together to support Houthi terrorists against the Yemeni people and government,” Wilson wrote. “Rule of gun versus rule of law.”
‘Close Connections’ to CCP
A 2024 report by China Aerospace Studies Institute, a U.S. Department of the Air Force think tank, states that CGST “maintains close connections to the PRC government, the Chinese Communist Party, and the People’s Liberation Army.”
The report provides evidence demonstrating the company’s ties to the military. For example, the company’s development of its Jilin-1 remote sensing satellites was based on Beijing’s military-civil fusion (MCF) strategy, as outlined by provincial authorities in China’s Jilin Province and the Equipment Development Department of China’s top military body, the Central Military Commission.
The U.S. State Department explained on its website that China is using the MCF strategy for developing its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) into a “world-class military” by 2049. The strategy includes obtaining intellectual property, key research, and technological advancement from targets around the world in a “clandestine and non-transparent manner.”
The China Aerospace Studies Institute report also highlights CGST’s collaboration with the PLA Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) on at least one large-scale civil engineering project.
PLASSF was dissolved in 2024 as part of a reorganization and was replaced by the PLA Aerospace Force, the PLA Cyberspace Force, and the PLA Information Support Force.
CGST is overseen by a CCP committee headed by Party Secretary Jia Hongguang, which proves the company’s ties to the Party, according to the China Aerospace Studies Institute report.
The report also reviewed the company’s CCP work guidelines posted on its website, which said the company’s Party branch should “serve the central mission of the Party.”
“Considering the prominence given to the CCP and the central role of the Party Committee on the company’s Chinese-language website, it is notable that all mention of the CCP is conspicuously absent on the company’s English-language website,” the report reads.
In 2023, CGST hosted Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who told the company to “implement the instructions” of CCP leader Xi Jinping, according to the report.
“The company was heavily supported by the PLA in its early years, and its satellites have clear applications in areas such as detection of enemy ships at sea,” it reads.
“CGST is representative of the PRC’s increasingly impressive capabilities in space and the narrowing technological gap between itself and the U.S., a prospect that should concern U.S. policymakers.”
From The Epoch Times
