| Summary/Abstract |
The Republic of Yemen (North Yemen) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) established diplomatic relations in 1956, the first Arabian Peninsula country to recognise the PRC as the legitimate representative of the country. Yemen is a significant and strategically important state in the southern Arabian Peninsula bordering Saudi Arabia, Oman, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden within the Arabian Sea (Behbehani. 1985. China and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen). The geographical location of Yemen makes it an essential state for the PRC because it enables it an observation point over three regional trouble spots: the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Horn of Africa. Thus, Yemen can become the bridge between Asia and Africa, and between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, and a vital component of China’s Silk Road Strategy. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) could be used as a new driving force for the Sino-Yemen relationship, especially the integration between the state’s post-war reconstruction and the realization of the initiative.
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