China criticized President Trump’s announcement that Venezuela would hand over tens of millions of barrels of oil to the US, calling it “bullying”.
“Venezuela is a sovereign country and enjoys complete and permanent sovereignty over natural resources as well as all economic activities within its territory,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ninh said at a press conference on January 7.
Mrs. Mao accused the US of “blatantly using force against Venezuela and demanding that Venezuela give up its oil resources under the ‘America First’ policy”.
The statement was made by China after President Donald Trump said Venezuela would hand over 30-50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the US to sell at market prices, but did not specify a specific time frame. He added that the proceeds would be controlled by him as US President “to ensure they are used for the benefit of the Venezuelan and American people”.
“This is a typical act of bullying, a serious violation of international law, a serious violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty, and a serious harm to the rights of the Venezuelan people,” Ms. Mao said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning at a press conference in February 2024 in Beijing. Image: AFP
The Venezuelan government has not commented on the plan to transfer oil to the US.
Mr. Trump previously said he wanted Venezuela’s interim President to allow the US and companies full access to Venezuela’s oil industry. ABC News citing three sources with knowledge of the plan, the US side required Venezuela to agree to cooperate exclusively with the US on oil production and give priority to the country when selling crude oil. The US requires Venezuela to remove Cuban, Iranian, Russian and Chinese companies from operating in the oil and gas industry, and cut economic relations with these countries.
Venezuela has about 303 billion barrels of crude oil, accounting for about 17% of world oil reserves, but exploitation output accounts for only 1%. The reason is due to sanctions from the US and decades of bad management, but partly due to the characteristics of Venezuelan oil, which is difficult to refine and requires large costs.
Venezuelan crude oil accounts for about 4% of China’s total oil imports, and Beijing is Caracas’s largest oil buyer. However, Venezuela is storing millions of barrels of oil on ships and tanks, which cannot be shipped abroad due to the export ban imposed by the US from mid-December 2025.