Foreign sanctions would only worsen situation in Venezuela: Chinese diplomat

The Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said on Friday that foreign sanctions would only worsen the situation in Venezuela and that China continued to support the search for political resolution there. Wang was speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of China's annual meeting of parliament.

China has repeatedly called for outsiders not to interfere in Venezuela's internal affairs, and has stuck by the embattled President Nicolas Maduro. Most Western nations have recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate head of state. Beijing has lent more than $50 billion to Venezuela through oil-for-loan agreements over the past decade, securing energy supplies for its fast-growing economy.