China slams US ‘world judge’ stance after Maduro seized
Wang Yi says no country can be the ‘world’s judge’ after the US captured Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, now held in New York on drug charges.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing could not accept any country acting as the “world’s judge” after the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in China’s first public remarks since images of Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed shocked Venezuelans.
“We have never believed that any country can act as the world’s police, nor do we accept that any nation can claim to be the world’s judge,” Wang told Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar during talks in Beijing on Sunday, referring to “sudden developments in Venezuela” without directly naming the US. Wang added that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be protected under international law.
Maduro, 63, is being held in a New York detention centre and is due to appear in court on Monday on US drug charges, Reuters reported.
The episode poses an early test for the “all-weather” strategic partnership China and Venezuela announced in 2023, nearly 50 years after the two countries established diplomatic ties.
It also comes as US President Donald Trump says Washington will oversee Venezuela’s government for the time being.
A Chinese government official briefed on a meeting between Maduro and China’s special representative for Latin American and Caribbean affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi, said the capture was “a big blow” for Beijing as it sought to appear a dependable partner to Caracas.
China has provided Venezuela with an economic lifeline since sanctions were tightened in 2017, buying about US$1.6 billion worth of goods in 2024, with crude oil accounting for almost half, according to customs data cited by Reuters. China’s state-owned oil firms had invested about US$4.6 billion in Venezuela by 2018, according to figures compiled by the American Enterprise Institute.
