Chinese envoy calls for efforts to maintain Yemen truce

UNITED NATIONS - A Chinese envoy called on the parties to the conflict in Yemen to maintain the current two-month truce and work toward its renewal.

With the parties agreeing on a two-month truce starting on April 2, the Yemeni people entered the holy month of Ramadan free of fighting for the first time in seven years, said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, at a UN Security Council briefing on Yemen on Thursday.

"Peace and stability is the common wish of the Yemeni people. It is in no one's interests to resume hostilities," Dai said.

"The current truce, hard-won and fragile, must be cherished with greater care by all parties. We call on all parties in Yemen to do their utmost to make it hold and make every effort to maintain the momentum for its renewal," he said.

The Yemen conflict should be resolved through a Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned political process, he added.

With the truce in place, some goods have started to enter the Hodeidah port, and commercial flights have begun to depart from and land at Sanaa airport.

This will help ease Yemen's humanitarian situation. Dai said China applauds Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for offering economic support to Yemen and welcomes continued financial and material assistance from the international community.