The two presidents announced the elevation of the China-Venezuela relationship to an all-weather strategic partnership…reports Asian Lite News
Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro Moros, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday.
The two presidents announced the elevation of the China-Venezuela relationship to an all-weather strategic partnership, Xinhua news agency reported.
“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,” Xi told Maduro.
“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 said, calling on the two sides to push for more fruitful China-Venezuela strategic cooperation, bring more benefits to the two peoples and inject more positive energy into world peace and development.
Maduro said Venezuela and China enjoy profound friendship and fruitful cooperation, making bilateral relations a model for relations among countries of the Global South. He said the Venezuelan people thank the Chinese government and people for their valuable support and assistance when Venezuela was suffering from illegal unilateral sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maduro said Venezuela’s national development and Venezuela-China relations are at a significant stage. “The establishment of an all-weather strategic partnership is of historic significance and will surely usher in a new era of bilateral relations.”
Sun Yanfeng, Deputy Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, 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,” Sun said.