The meeting at the Miraflores Palace on Friday comes as Venezuela faces escalating tensions with Washington. Qiu Xiaoqi, the Special Representative for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, led the Chinese delegation, which included Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela Lan Hu and other senior officials.
“I am very happy to greet you. Thank you and thank President Xi Jinping for his brotherhood and his message as a strong leader for the world,” Maduro stated this during the meeting, together with Oil Minister and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.
The Venezuelan government said the meeting served its purpose “consolidate the new multipolar world order.” It emphasized the “unwavering” nature of the relationship between Caracas and Beijing, especially in light of the “unilateral coercive measures” and the pursuit of “sovereign development” for the countries of the Global South.
Beijing has not yet released the reading of the meeting, but according to Caracas, Qiu Xiaoqi emphasized that China and Venezuela “strategic partners put to the test” and that the Bolivarian government represents a valuable opportunity for China.
The show of support from China follows recent condemnation of US actions in the region from Russia, which has also reaffirmed its solidarity with Venezuela as it faces a naval blockade in the Caribbean.
The US has justified its military strikes on suspected drug-smuggling ships and its naval blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers as part of a campaign to crack down on what it describes as “Cartel of the Suns,” alleged ties to Maduro’s government – accusations that Caracas strongly denies.
Maduro said he is open to talks with the Trump administration over drug trafficking and even Venezuela’s oil reserves, but drew a firm line against what Caracas described as attempts to do so. “extortion.”
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Venezuela accuses the US of ‘the biggest extortion’ in history
“The U.S. government knows because we have told many of their spokespeople that if they are serious about talking about an anti-drug trafficking agreement, we are ready.” he said in an interview released Thursday. “If they want oil, Venezuela is ready for American investment, like Chevron, whenever they want it, wherever they want it, however they want it.”
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