China’s foreign ministry said that it is deeply shocked by the capture of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro by US forces on Saturday (Jan. 3) and that the act violates the law.
Maduro’s capture came hours after he received Qiu Xiaoqi, a special representative of the Chinese government on Latin American affairs, at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas on Friday and touted both countries’ ties.
China is Venezuela’s main oil buyer, accounting for 80 per cent of Venezuela’s oil exports, and it has been hit hardest by the Trump administration’s sanctions of a blockade of all sanctioned vessels going in and out of Venezuelan waters.
US’ interceptions of Venezuelan oil tankers has cut Venezuelan oil exports in December to about half of its November levels.
It was a very emotional day for Venezuelans worldwide.
As they celebrate Maduro’s capture, millions of people have left Venezuela in recent years due to economic chaos and political repression in the country.
In Doral, Florida, US, where about 40 percent of people are of Venezuelan origin, music blared in celebration early on Saturday.
Florida representative Carlos Gimenez also calls the capture “equivalent of the falling of the Berlin Wall” in the Western hemisphere.
French President Emmanuel Macron echoed the same sentiment on X, “The Venezuelan people are today rid of Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship and can only rejoice.”
“By seizing power and trampling on fundamental freedoms, Nicolás Maduro gravely undermined the dignity of his own people,” Macron added.
China Benefits From Maduro’s Regime But Leaves Venezuelans Poor
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced in November a zero-tariff trade agreement for Venezuela and China, which gives China complete control over Venezuela’s economy.
The zero tariffs covers 400 categories of goods for both countries.
The move appears to benefit the CCP, allowing it to buy oil at zero tariffs from Venezuela, and sell most of its products to the country with no tariffs.
“This really looks like China is going to completely take over the Venezuelan economy. It’s going to decimate Venezuela’s local industry,” Gordon Chang, an expert on China’s global trade strategy, told Fox News.
The CCP provided Venezuela with a $4 billion credit line to be repaid by oil shipments the following year after Nicolas Maduro became Venezuela’s President in 2013.
A Think tank, the Council on Foreign Relations, estimates that China has extended around $60 billion in loans to Venezuela over the past two decades.
Maduro is widely considered a dictator, leading an authoritarian government, characterized by electoral fraud, serious human rights abuses and rampant corruption.
Reuters reported in 2018, ZTE, a partially state-owned Chinese company, has helped Venezuela create a China-style social control over Venezuelans.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, was once the richest country in Latin America, but since Maduro’s presidency, now faces economic hardship, due to mismanagement and corruption.
According to UNHCR, people are fleeing Venezuela, in an attempt to escape widespread violence and poverty. Safety concerns, hunger, and high inflation after an economic collapse have left millions extremely vulnerable. Since the crisis began, nearly 8 million Venezuelans have been forced to flee from their homes in search of safety.
