Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning stressed that this is an important international trade route for goods and energy, so she urged “the stakeholders” to “play a constructive and responsible role in maintaining security and stability in the region.”

The spokeswoman expressed Beijing’s willingness to be in communication with all parties involved, “promote the de-escalation of the situation, and safeguard the security of international waterways.”

Mao thus responded to a question about the current situation in the Red Sea and the airstrikes by the United States and the United Kingdom on Yemen in recent hours.

The Pentagon used fighter jets and Tomahawk cruise missiles in the offensive, which comes after Washington’s continued threats against the rebels over the Ansar Allah movement’s operations in the Red Sea.

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said on Thursday that any US attacks on Yemen “will not go unanswered,” and warned that the response would be “much more” than attacking US ships in the sea.

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