China Backs Venezuela's Efforts to Safeguard Sovereignty: Xi

On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at the Great Hall of the People, where they announced the elevation of the China-Venezuela relationship to an “All-Weather Strategic Partnership.”

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“China and Venezuela are good friends who trust each other and good partners for common development, hailing the ironclad friendship forged amid the ever-changing international landscape,” Xi said.

"China has always viewed its relations with Venezuela from a strategic and long-term perspective, and firmly supports Venezuela's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, national dignity and social stability, as well as Venezuela's just cause of opposing external interference," he added.

"The establishment of an all-weather strategic partnership between China and Venezuela meets the common expectations of the two peoples and conforms to the general trend of historical development," Xi pointed out.

Sun Yanfeng, deputy director of the Institute of Latin American Studies, noted that Venezuela is the first Latin American country that China established an all-weather strategic partnership with.

"The upgraded relationship means increased political trust, strategic need of each other, and high-level cooperation between the two sides. It also means they will surely expand cooperation in multilateral frameworks and, therefore, contribute to building a fair and just international order," he said.

A week ago, President Maduro started his visit in Shenzhen, a reform pioneer where one of China's first Special Economic Zones (SEZ) was established in 1980. There, he experienced firsthand the achievements of the Chinese macroeconomic reform.

Xi said his country stands ready to work with Venezuela to firmly support each other in exploring a development path suited to their national conditions and strengthen Party and national governance exchanges. He said China supports Venezuela in setting up special economic zones and will share relevant experience to help its national development.

If Venezuela can establish Venezuelan-style special zones to attract capital, technology, and management expertise, it will greatly promote Venezuela's development, as Venezuela's economy has been under pressure due to domestic political factors, U.S. sanctions, and COVID-19, said Song Junying, the director of the Department for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the China Institute of International Studies.

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Venezuela. China is ready to strengthen people-to-people exchanges with Venezuela, support the development of Chinese language teaching Confucius institutes in Venezuela, and strengthen media exchanges, Xi said, calling on two sides to implement the outcomes of the 17th meeting of the Mixed Venezuela-China High-Level Committee and strengthen practical cooperation in various fields in the next stage.

Xi said China is willing to import more high-quality Venezuelan products and congratulated Venezuela on becoming the first country in the Americas to join the China-initiated cooperation on the International Lunar Research Station.

The two sides should work closely in multilateral mechanisms, including the United Nations, The Group of 77 (G77) and China, strengthen solidarity and cooperation with other developing countries, and jointly safeguard the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the common interests of developing countries, the Chinese president said.

Noting China attaches great importance to the development of China-Latin America relations and next year will mark the 10th anniversary of the China-CELAC Forum, Xi said China is ready to work with Venezuela and other countries in the region to promote China-Latin America cooperation and build a community with a shared future.