China on Wednesday sharply criticised U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned intervention in Venezuela’s oil industry, describing it as an illegal move that violates international law.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the “outrageous use of force against Venezuela” by the United States and demands that the country manage its oil resources according to the “America first” principle amounted to harassment and harmed the rights of the Venezuelan people.
She stressed that Venezuela has full sovereignty over its mineral resources and economic activities, adding that China’s rights and interests in the country must also be protected. China is a key ally of Venezuela and the largest buyer of the South American nation’s oil.
The remarks followed comments by Trump on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, where he said Venezuela’s interim government would hand over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of “sanctioned oil” to the United States, with proceeds controlled “to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.”
The U.S. president also claimed that American forces attacked targets in Venezuela on Saturday, seizing Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, over alleged drug offences and removing them from the country, after which he said the U.S. would temporarily run Venezuela.
Trump has previously highlighted the economic potential of Venezuela’s oil sector, stating that major U.S. oil companies would invest in repairing infrastructure and expanding production.