WASHINGTON (Realist English). A Chinese commercial satellite company with deep ties to the People’s Liberation Army is supplying imagery to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels to help them target American and international vessels in the Red Sea, according to US officials cited by the Financial Times.
The company in question, Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co Ltd (CGSTL), has been repeatedly flagged by Washington for its alleged role in supporting Houthi operations. A senior US State Department official said the United States has raised concerns about CGSTL’s activities with Beijing «numerous times», but those warnings were «ignored».
«Beijing’s tacit support for CGSTL, despite repeated diplomatic engagements, is yet another example of China’s empty rhetoric about peace and stability,» the official said. The US is now urging its allies to judge the Chinese Communist Party «by its actions, not its words».
According to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, the satellite firm is «directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on US interests». She added that Washington will not tolerate any foreign entity assisting designated terrorist groups like the Houthis.
The accusations come amid rising US-China tensions, exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 145% tariffs on a wide range of Chinese imports. At the same time, the Red Sea crisis continues to escalate, with Houthi forces launching frequent attacks on commercial shipping in what they describe as support for Palestinians in Gaza following Israel’s war against Hamas.
The Biden administration has called on China to pressure Iran into restraining the Houthis but has seen no tangible response. Beijing, for its part, said it was «not aware» of CGSTL’s alleged involvement when contacted by US media.
CGSTL was already under US sanctions in 2023 for allegedly providing high-resolution satellite imagery to Russia’s Wagner Group. Founded in 2014 as a joint venture between the Jilin provincial government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the firm is considered a key player in Beijing’s military-civil fusion strategy. Experts say its satellite technology is routinely used for both civilian and military purposes.
James Mulvenon, a specialist in Chinese military affairs, called CGSTL one of several «ostensibly commercial» companies embedded in China’s defense ecosystem. Another analyst, Matthew Bruzzese of BluePath Labs, noted the firm’s growing capabilities — including a planned 300-satellite constellation by 2025, capable of imaging any location on Earth every 10 minutes — and its links to top PLA leadership, including General Zhang Youxia, China’s second-highest-ranking military officer.
The Pentagon has intensified scrutiny of Chinese activity in space, reporting that China launched 200 satellites in 2023, second only to the US. Many of these, including CGSTL’s platforms, are being exported and used in foreign conflict zones.
The allegations against CGSTL, if substantiated, reinforce a broader concern in Washington: the blurring of lines between China’s commercial tech firms and its military ambitions. The growing role of space-based surveillance in proxy conflicts like Yemen highlights how space technology is becoming a front line in global power competition. Whether China will move to restrict CGSTL’s operations remains unlikely — especially amid escalating trade and strategic rivalry with the US.
