Venezuela President to Visit China amid Beijing-West Tensions

By Staff, Agencies

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro will visit China on September 8-14, China’s foreign ministry said on Friday, marking renewed engagement between the two countries amid tensions between Beijing and Western capitals.

At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro Moros will pay a state visit to China from Sept. 8 to 14, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Friday, Xinhua reported.

Maduro’s arrival will follow meetings between a Venezuelan delegation, including the country’s vice president and oil minister, and Chinese officials including foreign minister Wang Yi in Shanghai earlier this week, according to China’s foreign ministry.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said in a post on X on Friday that the two governments were strengthening bilateral relations, and expanding “strategic cooperation and international joint work, in favor of peace and respect for the principles and purposes of the UN Charter.”

The visit coincides with the G20 summit in New Delhi this weekend, which China’s president Xi Jinping will not attend.

Maduro last visited China in 2018, when he met with Xi in Beijing.