China has privately asked Tehranto help rein in Yemen’s Houthis after an appeal to Beijing by Saudi Arabiafollowing the Iran-backed group’s military blitz in the past week, according tothree Iranian sources familiar with the matter.

Riyadh turned to China for help after the Houthis made rapidadvances along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, movesthat have left Saudi oil exports and ‌shipping more exposed, the sources said.

China has publicly called for restraint, dialogue and therestoration of safe navigation, but its private message went further than thepublic statements, they said.

Beijing wants Iran to use its influence with the Houthis tohelp prevent the conflict spreading further across energy routes on whichChina, the world’s second-largest economy, depends.

The sources, who were briefed on the discussions and spokeon condition of anonymity, did not provide details of how the message wasdelivered or whether it was conveyed during a visit to China on Wednesday byIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

The sources said Tehran’s response was that stability andpeace in the region depend on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Chinese officials did not issue any explicit threats orindicate that Beijing would seek to pressure Tehran economically if it failedto use its influence over the Houthis, the three Iranian sources said.

In response to a ⁠Reuters request for comment onthis story, the Chinese foreign ministry said: “China does not wish to seeregional tensions further spill over into Yemen and the Red Sea. Escalatingregional instability is not in the interests of any party”.

“The sovereignty and security of all countries should berespected, and facilities vital to people’s livelihoods must not be targeted.China calls for an end to actions that further complicate the situation andurges resolving issues through dialogue and negotiation,” it said.

Iran’s foreign ministry and the Saudi government’s mediaoffice did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment for thisarticle.

Dangers of a wider regional war

China has been Iran’s largest trading partner for more thana decade and remains the main buyer of its oil. Chinese purchases accounted formore than 80% of Iran’s seaborne oil exports in 2025, averaging about 1.4million barrels per day, according to commodities data and analytics firmKpler.

“Beijing is one of the few capitals that can still pressIran to rein in the Houthis,” said a senior Western diplomat in the region.

The Houthis, who emerged in the 1990s in opposition to SaudiArabia’s Sunni religious influence in Yemen, are armed, trained and funded byIran, according to Iranian sources and Western countries, and form part ofTehran’s anti-Western, anti-Israel “Axis of Resistance”.

Any threat by the Houthis to shipping in the Red Sea andthrough the Bab el-Mandeb Strait risks sharply worsening the global energycrisis since Iran started ‌blocking the Strait ⁠of Hormuz and increasing thedanger of a wider regional conflict.

With Hormuz already effectively shut, sustained Houthiattacks on vessels or ports in the Red Sea would disrupt the Middle East’s twomain oil-export routes simultaneously, opening a new front in both the energycrisis and Iran’s broader confrontation with the United States.

Iran and its allies now exert pressure over both ends of theregion’s key maritime network, one of the sources said, adding that “Chinadepends on both”.

Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the MiddleEast Institute in Washington, said Beijing may oppose US pressure on Tehran,but its interests in the Middle East extend well beyond Iran. Roughly half ofChina’s oil imports come from the region, while trade between China and theGulf Cooperation Council states totals around $300 billion ⁠ayear.

“Iran can disrupt Hormuz. But at some point that leveragebegins hurting the very power Tehran increasingly depends on,” Vatanka said.

China’s dilemma

It is unclear whether Tehran will act on the concerns raisedby Beijing, according to the three Iranian sources.

The relationship nevertheless carries significant economicand strategic weight for Iran as it continues to face hostilities with the US,they said.

China is among the few countries with the financial capacityto provide the investment Tehran needs to sustain its oil industry and easepressure on its economy, battered by ⁠war and sanctions.

Beijing has also demonstrated its diplomatic influence. In2023, China brokered the agreement that restored ties between Iran and SaudiArabia after years of hostility.

That influence has limits, however. Critics inside Iran havecomplained about the relatively modest level of Chinese non-oil trade andinvestment since the two countries signed a 25-year cooperation pact in 2021,particularly compared with China’s growing investment commitments in Gulf Arabstates.

China remains a factor Tehran cannot afford to ignore, buttwo of the ⁠Iranian sources said Beijing’s interests were onlyone consideration among many. Iran’s decisions are shaped by competingstrategic, economic and political priorities, they said.

“Tehran and Beijing need each other. China is a factorTehran cannot ignore, and Beijing wants Hormuz reopened and Red Sea shippingsecured,” the Western diplomat said.

Analysts say the key test will be whether China is preparedto attach consequences to its demands. Ultimately, they say, the clearest signof Beijing’s resolve would be evidence that it is willing to use its leverageover Tehran.