China has voiced serious concerns and delivered a strong response following recent actions involving Venezuela and the United States.
On January 3, 2026, US forces conducted a covert military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The capital of Venezuela, Caracas, was targeted by the US military in the early hours of Saturday. Shortly thereafter, Trump announced on Truth Social that President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been taken out of the country.
While the White House has categorized the action as a law enforcement effort, critics and some analysts suggest it may serve broader strategic objectives, raising concerns about motivations such as accessing Venezuela’s extensive oil reserves for the US.
On Sunday (January 4), President Donald Trump informed reporters aboard Air Force One that America was now ‘in charge’ of Venezuela, despite the country’s Supreme Court naming Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as interim leader.
During a press conference, he stated: “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” he said.
“We don’t want to be involved with having somebody else get in and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years, so we are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.
“And it has to be judicious, because that’s what we’re all about. We want peace, liberty and justice for the great people of Venezuela, and that includes many from Venezuela that are now living in the United States and want to go back to their country, it’s their homeland.”
China has now expressed opposition to Trump’s action, demanding the immediate release of Maduro.
The relationship between China and Venezuela has been strong and amicable for many years. As the world’s second-largest economy, China has been instrumental in supporting Venezuela’s economy, especially after US-imposed sanctions in 2017. In 2024 alone, China purchased nearly £1.2bn worth of Venezuelan goods.
Maduro had recently received Chinese delegations, including a meeting in Caracas with a group led by China’s special representative for Latin American affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi, just hours before his capture.
According to China’s foreign ministry, the US military operation that led to the capture of the Venezuelan president violated international law.
“The US actions clearly violate international law, the basic norms in international relations, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,” China’s foreign ministry stated, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
“China calls on the US to ensure the personal safety of President Maduro and his wife, to release them immediately, to stop subverting the Venezuelan regime and to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation,” the ministry added.