Chinese authorities have rejected U.S. government requests that Beijing stop providing satellite imagery support to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants. The U.S. says the militants are using the images to target international shipping in the Red Sea. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters on Thursday that Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd. “is directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on U.S. interests.” 

“Their actions and Beijing’s support of the company, even after our private engagements with them, is yet another example of China’s empty claims to support peace. … The fact that they continue to do this is unacceptable,” Ms. Bruce said. “We urge our partners to judge the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese companies on their actions, not their empty words.”

China rejected the comments, with a top foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing saying he was not familiar with the Chinese company’s support for the Yemen rebels and denying that China is undermining regional peace.

U.S. and Iranian officials held a second round of talks Saturday aimed at securing a deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear program. A senior Trump administration official said the two sides had “direct and indirect discussions,” suggesting that Trump administration special envoy Steve Witkoff spoke face-to-face for at least a brief period of time with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The talks, held inside the Oman Embassy in Rome, follow U.S. and Israeli warnings that military force could be used to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Reuters reported over the weekend that Israel has not ruled out a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, despite Mr. Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a recent meeting that the U.S. is currently focused on pursuing diplomacy with Tehran.

Ukraine and Russia each accused the other Sunday of breaking a brief truce to pause fighting on Easter, while Mr. Trump sought in a social media post to breathe new life into his administration’s push for a lasting ceasefire, writing on Truth Social that the two sides could “make a deal this week.”

A report Monday by the Kyiv Post asserted that Mr. Trump’s optimism over the weekend “was at odds with the Kremlin’s official rejection of a White House-backed proposal for a 30-day pause in the war.” Dozens of Russian attacks were reported across Ukraine on Sunday. 

National Security Correspondent Ben Wolfgang writes that the apparent inability of the two sides to follow through on a brief Easter pause comes against the backdrop of an increasingly frustrated Trump administration, which has made clear that it is prepared to walk away from its peace push despite Mr. Trump’s vow to end the war quickly. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia, part of his push to take advantage of regional unease over Mr. Trump’s tariff offensive, The Chinese leader sought to promote Beijing’s own far-flung trade, investment and security strategies in Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia.

China is focused on leveraging its Belt and Road Initiative, which develops infrastructure projects in developing countries. The timing of the Chinese president’s trip provided a “windfall opportunity … for Xi to exploit,” according to Alex Neill, a China expert with the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum.

When U.S. tariffs were announced on April 2, Vietnam was hit with 46% duties, Malaysia with 24% and Cambodia with 49%. All have since been temporarily slashed to 10%, providing negotiating space in the weeks ahead. Duties on China, however, have escalated to 145%.

There should be “no surprise that China, by 2049, the centennial of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, aspires to be the dominant global power,” writes Joseph R. DeTrani, a former director of East Asia operations at the CIA and a contributor to Threat Status. 

“Many in China have read ‘Destined for War,’ where a rising power overtakes an established power,” writes Mr. DeTrani, who asserts that “this is not a time for the U.S. to withdraw from world leadership. Many countries are looking to the U.S. for economic and security assurances, as we deter China, Russia, North Korea and Iran from their territorial ambitions.”

“Given the major role the U.S. played in helping China become the second-largest economy in the world,” he writes, “it would make sense that our countries worked jointly to combat pandemics, narcotics trafficking and nuclear proliferation while using our diplomats to help resolve these irritants and ensure that we do not slide into conflict.”

• April 22 — Ally to Adversary? The United States and Europe in Trump’s Second Term, Brookings Institution

• April 23 — Sinocentrism and the U.S.-China-Russia Grand Strategic Triangle, Stimson Center

• April 28-May 1 — RSAC 2025, RSA Conference 

• April 29 — The Stakes of Sino-American AI Competition, Center for a New American Security

• April 29-May 1 — Modern Day Marine Convention

• April 30 — The Hill & Valley Forum

• April 30 — Robins Air Force Base Tech Expo, NCSI