China has criticized “unilateral thuggery” and defended the interests of Venezuela during a telephone conversation between her Foreign Ministers, Wang Yi and Yvan Gil, without clarifying how she will help her if Washington continues to screw her. The communication comes after the complete blockade ordered by Donald Trump and almost a hundred deaths in three months of attacks on Venezuelan ships justified in the fight against drugs.
“China believes that the international community understands and supports Venezuela’s position to defend its legitimate rights and interests,” Wang said, according to the official Chinese press. It also supports the urgent meeting of the UN Security Council that Caracas had requested in the face of the serious deterioration of the situation. The Chinese official has also called for an end to US sanctions because they have no basis in international law or support from the UN, where China has promised to play a “responsible role.” The statement does not mention the United States or Donald Trump, it does not specify any aid to the Venezuelan Government nor does it clarify whether it will grant refuge to its president. Nicolas Maduroif he is overthrown.
Venezuela is relevant to China because of its geostrategic value in Latin America and the supply of oil. In recent years there has been no shortage of exciting declarations of iron friendship, but the current context recommends great tact. Beijing has regained harmony with the United States, its main trading partner, after difficult months and does not want to risk more sanctions. AND Russiaits other traditional ally, is very busy in Ukrainewhich leaves Maduro in a very fragile situation.
Caracas-Beijing-Moscow Axis
The Caracas-Beijing-Moscow axis was strengthened in 1999 with the coming to power of Hugo Chavez and the shared desire for a multipolar world. Two decades later, neither China nor Russia recognized him as president. Juan Guaidó after murky elections, and remained loyal to Maduro. China allows Caracas to breathe when international sanctions tighten. It is the main buyer of Venezuelan crude oil: about 600,000 barrels per day, according to analysts. They are barely 4% of its total imports but serve its strategy of diversifying its supplies to mitigate its dependence on the Middle East.
He has also offered him generous loans. In the first 15 years of the millennium they were around $50 billion, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, which represents 40% of all Chinese loans to Latin America. Its faltering economy and the hardships of its oil sector have made that flow risky. Beijing has reduced new credits in recent years and is making efforts to collect old ones.
Venezuela continues to look at China as the float in the storm. Maduro asked Xi JinpingChinese president, more cooperation on trade and energy during a meeting in Moscow this year. And he also asked for more military cooperation by letter in October, according to official documents leaked to the Washington Post, to counter US hostilities. China already supplies riot gear, missiles and there is speculation about a future sale of war fighters.
The conflict highlights the struggle between the two superpowers in Latin America. The United States has claimed a monopoly on its influence with the Monroe Doctrine during the last two centuries. “Only American citizens, and not other countries or international organizations, will always control our destiny in our hemisphere,” Trump added. Its intention collides with the Chinese presence, accelerated in the last 25 years with trade, which has turned Beijing into a crucial partner for countries like Venezuela or Brazil. China has denied that Latin America is America’s backyard and has asked the area to find its own path. “The region has a glorious tradition of independence (…). It is an essential force in the process towards a multipolar world and economic globalization,” stated its recent document on politics in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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