Yemen Monitor / Agencies:
U.S. officials have accused a Chinese satellite company with ties to the Chinese military of providing Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen with satellite imagery used to target US and international warships in the Red Sea.
The Trump administration has repeatedly warned Beijing that Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. (CGSTL)—a commercial firm linked to the People’s Liberation Army—is supplying the Houthis with intelligence, according to US officials.
A senior State Department official stated:
“The United States has raised specific concerns multiple times with the Chinese government about the role of Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. in supporting the Houthis, urging Beijing to take action.”
The official added that China had “ignored” these concerns, telling the Financial Times that CGSTL’s actions and the “implicit support from Beijing” despite U.S. warnings are “yet another example of China’s hollow claims to support peace.”
SCOOP – US says Chinese satellite company with military links has been providing the Houthis with imagery to help them target American and allied warships & international cargo vessels. Company is Chang Guang Satellite Technology. #USChinaScoophttps://t.co/R0OVBQ1lwK
— Demetri (@Dimi) April 17, 2025
“We urge our partners to judge the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese companies by their actions, not their empty rhetoric,” the official continued.
Concerns about CGSTL have emerged amid intensifying U.S.-China trade tensions, following President Donald Trump’s imposition of hefty new tariffs on Chinese imports, now taxed at 145%.
The Houthis began targeting ships in the Red Sea—a critical route for global trade and the U.S. Navy—after Israel launched a war against Iran-backed Hamas in 2023, in response to Hamas’ October 7 attack.
In recent weeks, the U.S. has escalated its strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen, including a major military operation at the heart of the “SignalGate” leak, signaling a broader campaign escalation.
Though China has expressed concern over Houthi attacks, the Biden administration had urged Beijing to use its influence over Iran to rein in the Houthis. However, U.S. officials said there’s no evidence Beijing has done so.
President Trump has prioritized resolving instability in the Red Sea, concerned that the Houthis continue to pose a serious threat to the global economy.
“Beijing should take this priority seriously when considering any future support to CGSTL,” the US official warned.
When asked about the U.S. allegations, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said they were “not aware of the matter in question.”
CGSTL had previously come under U.S. scrutiny and was among the companies sanctioned in 2023 for supplying high-resolution satellite images to Russia’s Wagner Group, which supported President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Founded in 2014 as a joint venture between the Jilin provincial government and a branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Changchun, CGSTL is deeply embedded in China’s military-civil fusion system.
James Mulvenon, a Chinese military and intelligence expert at Pamir Consulting, said:
“Chang Guang is one of a handful of nominally commercial Chinese firms that are in fact deeply enmeshed in the military-civil fusion system, providing global surveillance capabilities to both civilian and military clients.”
Under China’s military-civil fusion program, companies are required to share their technologies with the People’s Liberation Army upon request.
Matthew Brazise, a Chinese defense expert at BluePath Labs—a consultancy working with the U.S. government—said last year that CGSTL had 100 satellites in orbit and plans to increase that number to 300 by the end of 2025, enabling it to capture images of any global location every 10 minutes.
Brazise noted CGSTL’s “close ties” to the Chinese government, the Communist Party, and the military, though public references to its PLA connections have decreased since 2020, indicating a more cautious approach to revealing those links.
In recent years, the U.S. has sanctioned dozens of Chinese commercial entities over alleged military ties.
Brazise added that CGSTL has briefed top Chinese officials on the applications of its technologies, including for “military-intelligence purposes,” and has showcased its capabilities to senior PLA officers, including Zhang Youxia, the highest-ranking general in the Chinese military and considered second only to President Xi Jinping.
These concerns about CGSTL arise as the Pentagon increases its focus on China’s expanding military activity in space. The Pentagon reported that China launched 200 satellites into orbit in 2023, second only to the US, and is also exporting its satellite technologies—including remote-sensing satellites like those used by CGSTL.
