Beijing on Wednesday sharply criticised a new US policy that tightens Venezuela‑related trade rules and leaves out key countries including China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and Cuba.
At a press briefing in the capital, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called the “general licences” issued by Washington a restriction on legitimate economic cooperation and urged the United States to lift unilateral sanctions against Venezuela instead of using licence exemptions that Beijing says undermine other nations’ interests.
“China firmly opposes setting restrictions on China-Venezuela cooperation by issuing so-called general licences,” Mao said, stressing "safeguarding interests” of the world’s second-largest economy.
The US Treasury, in a waiver on Tuesday on US sanctions related to Venezuela, said the new transaction does not involve the processing or refining of Venezuelan-origin minerals, including gold, and also excludes Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and China.
Instead of the general licences, Mao said the US should “lift illicit, unilateral sanctions on Venezuela at once, rather than use so-called general licences to whitewash its moves” to hamper “lawful interests of other parties.”
The Trump administration’s latest move comes after the US forces raided Caracas in January, abducting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife Cilia Flores, who have been detained in New York over charges related to drug trafficking and weapons-related offenses.
Both have denied the charges.
