And its state media showed off the footage from that meeting to prove it: smiling men in suits, reviewing some of the 600 current agreements between their two countries - except the next photograph of Maduro was taken on board a US warship, blindfolded and handcuffed, in grey sweats. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters that this was a "typical act of bullying, a serious violation of international law, a severe infringement upon Venezuela's sovereignty and will do grave damage to the rights of the Venezuelan people." "Chinese firms like CNPC and Sinopec are among the largest players there and there is a risk of those assets either being nationalised by the Venezuelans, under the direction of the US or otherwise marginalised amid the chaos."
Published at: 2026-01-06 23:01:19
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