Somali Magazine September 14,2023-China has welcomed Venezuela’s aim to join the BRICS grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and has stated that Beijing will assist Caracas in achieving this goal.
In a joint statement issued Thursday following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Beijing on Wednesday, Maduro restated Venezuela’s desire in joining BRICS.
“As a dependable energy supplier and the world’s largest oil and fourth largest natural gas reserve country, Venezuela can make significant contributions to this mechanism’s energy agenda.” “China welcomes Venezuela’s positive intention to join the BRICS and supports Venezuela’s efforts to achieve this goal,” the Chinese government said.
Last month, the emerging economies bloc announced that Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will become full members of BRICS next year.
The two nations also proclaimed in the 30-point joint declaration that China-Venezuela relations will be upgraded to an all-weather strategic cooperation and that heads of state diplomacy would be given full play.
The two sides also agreed that Latin America and the Caribbean should be nuclear-free zones and that Japan should not dump treated effluent into the sea.
While opposing sanctions against Venezuela, Beijing stated that they “seriously violate basic principles of international law such as national sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs, and seriously damage the Venezuelan people’s rights to survival, development, and peace.”
The two parties agreed to promote and support all efforts for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine issue, and stated that conversation and negotiation are the only viable options for resolving the conflict.
“Venezuela values and strongly supports China’s relevant proposals.” Both parties urged more countries to play a positive role in forging a political solution to Ukraine’s conflict.”
Maduro’s week-long tour to China came to an end on Thursday.