China has called for the immediate release of the captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and decried the US's operation in Caracas as a breach of international law.
Beijing is gravely concerned by the capture of Mr Maduro and his wife and is closely following the security situation, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said during a press briefing on Monday. He added that China has maintained positive communication and co-operation with the Venezuelan government.
In the hours before Mr Maduro's capture, the Venezuelan leader was hosting a Chinese delegation in Caracas led by its special representative on Latin American affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi.
Footage showed the officials smiling together, oblivious to what was about to unfold. Images of the Venezuelan leader, blindfolded and handcuffed by US forces in the aftermath of the raid, have stunned the world.
China has accused the US of acting like a “world judge” in seizing Mr Maduro and charging him in New York.
“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,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday during a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing.
“The sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law,” Mr Wang added, in his first remarks since the capture of the Venezuelan President.
Mr Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, are scheduled to appear in a New York court on Monday on narco-terrorism charges.
Just blocks away, the UN Security Council will convene at Colombia's request – backed by China and Russia – to debate the decision to seize him, a move UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned could set “a dangerous precedent”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday urged all countries to abide by international law and the UN's principles. He said major powers should set an example, while stopping short of naming the US or Venezuela.
China, the largest buyer of oil from the South American country as well as its largest creditor, is the latest in a string of nations including Brazil, Russia, Colombia, Mexico and Cuba, that have denounced the US's actions in Venezuela.
Iran, another ally, also renewed similar calls on Monday for the release of Mr Maduro.
“The President of a country and his wife were abducted. It's nothing to be proud of; it's an illegal act,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said at a weekly press conference. “As the Venezuelan people have emphasised, their President must be released,” he added.
