“China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Monday that China was ‘deeply shocked’ by the ‘blatant use of force against a sovereign state’ and called on the U.S. to release Maduro and his wife. Chinese state media joined the criticism, with the official news agency Xinhua, for example, saying that Washington’s ‘true colors are revealed,’ returning ‘the world to a barbaric colonial era of plunder.’ Xi himself warned Monday that ‘unilateral bullying is severely impacting international order.’”

“China’s strong reaction in part reflected its close diplomatic and economic relationship with Venezuela. Beijing has offered a lifeline to Maduro’s embattled regime by providing loans to the country and buying the majority of Venezuela’s oil exports amid U.S. sanctions.”

“Just hours before he was captured, Maduro had met with a high-level delegation of Chinese officials in Caracas, led by Beijing’s special envoy for Latin American and Caribbean affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi.”

https://wapo.st/45r6Vd6

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