Overview
- At a Beijing briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called the reported demand "typical bullying" and a breach of international law.
- She said Venezuela has full sovereignty over its oil and that China and other partners have legitimate rights that must be protected, accusing Washington of harmful sanctions.
- ABC News has reported that the Trump administration pressed interim leader Delcy Rodríguez to grant exclusive oil partnership to the U.S., favor American buyers, and cut out Chinese, Russian, Iranian and Cuban interests.
- The protest follows a U.S. operation that captured Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores and broader interdictions targeting Venezuelan oil shipments in recent weeks.
- WION and DW cite statements that Venezuela could transfer 30–50 million barrels of sanctioned crude to the U.S., a claim that has not been uniformly corroborated, while China underscores its roughly $7 billion trade with Caracas.