Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing cannot accept any country acting as the “world’s judge” after the United States captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
The world’s second-largest economy has provided Venezuela with an economic lifeline since the U.S. and its allies ramped up sanctions in 2017, purchasing roughly $1.6 billion worth of goods in 2024, the most recent full-year data available.
Almost half of China’s purchases were crude oil, customs data shows, while its state-owned oil giants had invested around $4.6 billion in Venezuela by 2018, according to data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank, which tracks Chinese overseas corporate investment.
While I agree you always need to look at who is saying what and what their motivations are, China has been investing in Venezuela, just as they have in many other countries.
Investing in Venezuela instead of sanctioning them until they bow to your will? Terrible.
The largest outside investment in Venezuela has come from California based multinationals. China’s a very recent entrant into the Venezuelan market, owing in large part to the rising tide of US sanctions that prevents western businesses from doing the kind of trade they were already enthusiastic about.
Incidentally, the American Enterprise Institute operates as a lobbyist on behalf of many of those California businesses.