Chinese Foreign Minister: Beijing rejects any nation acting as a global judge.
“We have never believed that any country can act as the world’s policeman, nor do we accept that any nation can claim to be the world’s judge,” Wang Yi said after meeting his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Sunday, referring to the “sudden developments in Venezuela,” without directly referring to the United States.
In his first comments since images of 63-year-old Nicolas Maduro, blindfolded and handcuffed, shocked Venezuelans on Saturday, the senior Chinese official added that the sovereignty and security of all countries must be fully protected under international law.
Maduro is in custody in New York awaiting trial on Monday on drug-related charges.
However, US President Donald Trump’s claim that Washington will temporarily oversee the Venezuelan government poses a serious challenge to the “comprehensive and comprehensive strategic partnership” between Beijing and Caracas, which was signed in 2023 and marks nearly 50 years of diplomatic ties.
“This was a big blow to China; we wanted to be like a reliable friend to Venezuela,” a Chinese government official said.
As the world’s second-largest economy, China has provided economic assistance to Venezuela since the United States and its allies tightened sanctions in 2017, buying nearly $1.6 billion in goods from the country in 2024.
Customs data show that roughly half of China’s imports from Venezuela were crude oil, while the country’s state-owned oil companies had invested about $4.6 billion in Venezuela by 2018, according to data from the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank that tracks Chinese companies’ overseas investments.
According to IRNA, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to media reports that the United States had sent troops to Venezuela on Saturday (January 13) to arrest Maduro and his wife and remove them from the country, and that several governments had opposed the move, saying: “China is deeply concerned about the United States’ action in kidnapping Maduro and his wife and removing them from Venezuela. This US action is a clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.”
On Saturday morning (January 3/January 13, 1404), Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, along with the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira, were the scene of attacks by US forces, which resulted in the deaths of several civilians. The Venezuelan government called the action a “military invasion” and, while declaring a state of emergency, called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.