China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has stated that Beijing cannot accept any country acting as the “world’s judge” following 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 during a meeting in Beijing on Sunday, referring to “sudden developments in Venezuela” without directly mentioning the U.S.
China’s top ambassador also stated, “The sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law,” in his first comments since pictures of Maduro, 63, handcuffed and blindfolded on Saturday shocked Venezuelans.
Maduro is awaiting a court appearance on drug-related allegations on Monday while incarcerated in a facility in New York.
After mediating an unexpected reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2023, Beijing made its aim to become a diplomatic powerhouse most evident by promising to “play a constructive role in global hotspot issues.” Beijing’s ability to successfully compete with the United States in trade talks, according to analysts, has only bolstered China’s confidence.
However, the “all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership” Beijing and Caracas established in 2023—nearly 50 years of diplomatic ties—is put to the test by President Donald Trump’s claim that the United States will temporarily oversee Venezuela’s administration.
“It was a big blow to China, we wanted to look like a dependable friend to Venezuela,” a Chinese government official informed on a meeting between Maduro and Qiu Xiaoqi, China’s special envoy for Latin American and Caribbean issues, just hours before Maduro was apprehended.
They added that after years of diplomatic interaction with Caracas regarding his education and ties to China, Maduro’s son visited China’s elite Peking University in 2024, where he enrolled in 2016, and they were uncertain if he would return.
Since the United States and its allies increased sanctions in 2017, the second-largest economy in the world has given Venezuela a financial lifeline. According to the most recent full-year data available, the country spent almost $1.6 billion on goods in 2024.
According to customs data, about half of China’s purchases were crude oil, and by 2018, its state-owned oil companies had invested around $4.6 billion in Venezuela, according to data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank, which monitors Chinese business investment abroad.
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