Chinese arms, Middle Eastern militias and the accountability gap

From the report

A newly documented shipment intended for Yemen’s Houthi movement has renewed scrutiny of how Chinese-made equipment reaches armed groups in the Middle East. The evidence is serious: investigators found specialised missile parts, machinery and testing equipment in cargo shipped from China.

Conflict Armament Research (CAR), an independent weapons-tracing organisation, examined four shipping containers intercepted by Yemeni authorities while they were travelling to Hodeidah, a Houthi-controlled port. Shipping records showed that the containers reached the Aden Free Zone in June and October 2025 aboard two vessels carrying cargo from China. Hodeidah was listed as the intended destination.

The cargo included seven machined metal components that CAR assessed as parts of the airframe and solid-propellant motor of Iran’sKhaibarshekanprecision-guided missile. Investigators also found phenolic resin used in heat-resistant protection, a computer-controlled machine tool, an industrial press, an X-ray system and thermal-imaging equipment. Many of these products have civilian applications, but their presence beside missile-specific structures led CAR to conclude that they were probably intended for missile production, quality control and testing.