Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing cannot accept any country acting as the “world’s judge” after the United States captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
– “We have never believed that any country can act as the world’s police, nor do we accept that any nation can claim to be the world’s judge,” Wang told his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar Dar during a meeting in Beijing on Sunday, referring to “sudden developments in Venezuela” without directly mentioning the U.S.
– “The sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law,” China’s top diplomat added,
– “It was a big blow to China, we wanted to look like a dependable friend to Venezuela,” said a Chinese government official briefed on a meeting between Maduro and China’s special representative for Latin American and Caribbean affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi, hours before his capture.
– The world’s second-largest economy has provided Venezuela with an economic lifeline since the U.S. and its allies ramped up sanctions in 2017, purchasing roughly $1.6 billion worth of goods in 2024.
– Almost half of China’s purchases were crude oil, customs data shows, while its state-owned oil giants had invested around $4.6 billion in Venezuela by 2018.