PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 18th, 2025: US Accuses China Of Aiding Houthi Attacks & Rubio Threatens To Abandon Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks
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We'll start things off with China, as reports emerge that a satellite company with links to the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, has been helping the Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen target vessels in the Red Sea. Now we've got reports that they've been supplying artillery and munitions to the Russians and providing support to the Houthis. How very interventionist of them.

Later in the show, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. may walk away from peace talks regarding the war in Ukraine if significant progress is not made in the coming days. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. At a time when U.S.-China relations stand at a major crossroads, we're learning that the Chinese military may be covertly supporting Iranian-backed efforts to destabilize the Middle East. According to an exclusive report from the Financial Times, a

A Chinese satellite company with strong ties to the CCP and the People's Liberation Army has been directly supporting attacks by the Houthi militants of Yemen in the Red Sea. Specifically, American officials say a firm called Chengguang Satellite Technology has been passing imagery to the Iranian-backed Houthis that has facilitated their targeting of American warships and commercial shipping vessels in the region.

The company, which operates at least 100 satellites, reportedly has deep links to China's military apparatus and was previously sanctioned back in 2023 for providing satellite intelligence to Russia's mercenary Wagner Group.

Officials with the Trump administration said that they've repeatedly warned leaders in Beijing that the company is providing intelligence to the Houthis only to be ignored. The revelations undermine China's claims that they've been working to ease tensions in the region ever since the Houthis began their attacks in one of the most critical maritime routes for global trade.

A U.S. official told the Financial Times, quote, the U.S. has raised our concerns privately numerous times to the Chinese government in order to get Beijing to take action, end quote.

While the CCP is reportedly playing dumb over the actions of the satellite company, U.S. officials said, quote, Beijing's tacit support is yet another example of China's empty claims to support peace. They added, quote, We urge our partners to judge the Communist Party and Chinese companies on their actions, not their empty words, end quote.

As a reminder, since Hamas launched its terror attacks on Israel back on 7 October of 2023, the Houthis have carried out at least 145 attacks on commercial vessels and 174 attacks on US military ships in the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Now, let's play a game. Of all those attacks, how many do you suppose were on Chinese-owned or flagged vessels?

Well, the answer would be one. That was back in March of 2024, and that turned out to be an admitted mistake by the Houthis. The vessel was sailing under a Panamanian flag and had only recently been purchased by a Chinese entity. The Houthis, in fact, have pledged in the past not to attack Chinese vessels.

Their attacks have rattled global trade, driving up shipping costs and disrupting critical supply chains across the world. Some 70% of global trade traffic is now diverting around South Africa to avoid Houthi attacks near the Suez Canal.

The Trump administration has responded with an air campaign against the Houthis that began back on March 15th, conducting more than 350 strikes targeting Houthi missile storage sites, drone production facilities, and command infrastructure. The most recent strike came on Friday against an oil port held by the terror group. It reportedly killed 74 people and wounded 171 others, marking the deadliest U.S. action against the group since the Trump administration's campaign began.

but the Houthis have proven to be resilient, supported with intelligence from America's adversaries. China's alleged involvement, however, had not previously been publicly reported. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed the report from the Financial Times on Thursday, saying, "The fact that they continue to do this is unacceptable. China consistently attempts to frame itself as a global peacemaker. However,

it's clear that Beijing and China-based companies provide key economic and technical support to regimes like Russia, North Korea, and Iran and its proxies. The disclosure comes as Ukrainian President Zelenskyy accused China on Thursday of directly supplying the Putin regime with weapons and gunpowder, as well as manufacturing certain weapons for Moscow from inside Russian territory. China, as you might imagine, has denied the accusations.

Regarding the U.S. allegations concerning support for the Houthis, a spokesperson for China's Washington embassy said that they were not familiar with the situation and add no comment. Nothing to see here. A move along. All right, coming up next, it appears the Trump administration is losing patience over the ongoing war in Ukraine and may ditch their efforts to negotiate a ceasefire. I'll have those details when we come back.

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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. As frustrations build within the Trump administration over efforts to secure a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is signaling that the U.S. may walk away from negotiations altogether.

Secretary Rubio held discussions with European and Ukrainian officials in Paris on Thursday regarding the war. That's the first high-level, in-person talks on Trump's peace push that have included European powers. He presented an updated outline on the White House's approach for a negotiated settlement to the war that the State Department said got a "encouraging reception" from European leaders. That's according to a report from Reuters.

Following the summit, Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and conveyed the same outline for peace. Details of the latest framework are unknown, but sources said the State Department is trying to determine whether the large differences that remain between Russia and Ukraine can be narrowed through continued negotiations. Despite the apparent optimism on Thursday, Rubio said Friday that time to reach an agreement

is running out. Before departing Paris, Rubio told reporters, "We're not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end. So, we need to determine very quickly now, and I'm talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks." Rubio added, "If it's not possible, if we're so far apart that this is not going to happen, then I think the president is probably at a point where he's going to say, 'Well, we're done.'"

It was not immediately clear whether Rubio meant that the U.S. would ditch their current attempts to secure a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine or whether Trump intends to abandon his pursuit of peace altogether. Rubio did not blame either side in his remarks or indicate whether the U.S. would impose additional costs if progress is not made. It's according to a report from Axios.

But U.S. officials have previously described the end of April as an informal deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire, after which the U.S. may consider imposing fresh sanctions on the Putin regime. Ukrainian President Zelensky has already said he would honor a ceasefire if Russia reciprocates.

Three European diplomatic sources told Reuters that Rubio's comments reflected the administration's growing anger at Moscow's refusal to make concessions and commit to a pathway for peace. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, the Kremlin continues to indicate that they're in no hurry to end the war, and concerns are mounting that Putin is simply stringing along the Trump administration with false promises as he prepares to launch expanded offensives to seize more Ukrainian territory.

Last weekend, Russia launched a deadly bombardment on the Ukrainian city of Sumy as civilians were attending morning church services to celebrate Palm Sunday. The attack killed 35 people and wounded more than 100, prompting widespread condemnations. Following that attack, leaders across Europe implored the Trump administration to take a more hardline approach against Russia.

Still, others in the Trump administration remain hopeful that they can bridge the divide and move the needle on peace. Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking from Rome after a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Maloney on Thursday, said he felt, quote, "...optimistic that we can bring this very brutal war to a close," end quote. Well, being optimistic is nice, but it's hardly likely to move Putin's needle.

The U.S. will hold another round of peace talks with European and Ukrainian officials next week in London, but the major question remains whether a breakthrough can be achieved with the Kremlin before President Trump decides to walk away. And, of course, if the U.S. walks away from the search for a peace deal, does it mean they'll continue to provide support to Ukraine, or does it mean they simply walk away from the conflict altogether?

And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Friday, the 18th of April. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And, of course, don't forget, this is very important, synchronize your watches for 10 p.m. this evening because it's Friday night. And as with every Friday evening, we're launching a brand new episode of our extended weekend show, The PDB Situation Report. Great guests, key news of the day, and insight,

This weekend, we've got the super smart economist Preston Brasher from Heritage Foundation giving us an overview of the trade war with China and what it all means, along with Bill Roggio, also super smart, from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, providing the latest on the Houthi conflict as well as the near-bombing of Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

It's a barn burner of a show, a real 18-karat clambake, as we used to say back in the 60s, back when I used to pal around with Frank and Sammy and Dean. So, tune into the First TV tonight at 10 p.m., and as always, you can find the Situation Report on our YouTube channel, at President's Daily Brief, and of course, all podcast platforms. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with the Situation Report. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.

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