China won’t interfere in Venezuela despite controversy over President Maduro’s election win
Beijing says it is confident Caracas can resolve any disputes relating to the poll, but falls short of congratulating leader on his re-election
China said on Monday it would not interfere in Venezuela’s domestic affairs and trusted the South American country to resolve any problems it faced following President Nicolas Maduro’s controversial re-election on Sunday in a poll that was boycotted by millions.
Despite the upbeat tone of Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, Beijing has yet to issue its congratulations to Maduro, while some Chinese living in Venezuela described the president’s win as a disaster for the oil-rich country.
Lu said China hoped Venezuela could sort out any disputes relating to the election within the framework of the law, “if there are any disputes”, and that it would decide whether to send a note of congratulations “according to diplomatic protocols”.
When Maduro was first elected president in April 2013, Beijing sent its congratulations within hours of his victory, while President Xi Jinping later sent a personal note expressing his best wishes.
China has extended more than US$50 billion in funding to Caracas through its oil-for-loans scheme, supporting the regimes of both Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, but the flow of cash has slowed since Venezuela’s economy started to collapse in 2014.