China on Wednesday blasted a Wall Street Journal report that it was in talks with Venezuela’s opposition leader in order to protect its investments in the crisis-hit Latin America country.
The Journal reported on Tuesday that Chinese officials had met with representatives of opposition leader Juan Guaido in Washington to discuss Venezuela’s 20-billion-dollar debt to China and the status of joint projects.
Report says the U.S. backs Guaido’s efforts to replace Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, an ally of both China and Russia.
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China’s Foreign Ministry, however, denied news of the meeting on Wednesday and criticised the U.S. newspaper’s decision to publish the story prior to receiving its official response.
“I think that the Journal’s approach is not constructive nor is it professional, in fact, the report is false and it is fake news,’’ Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
Hua said: “China continues to seek a political solution through dialogue and consultation to Venezuela’s ongoing crisis’’.
Venezuela has faced years of food shortages and rampant inflation thanks in part to the economic policies of President Nicolas Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez.
According to reports, it is now in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.
Guaido has been recognised by the U.S. and a number of European countries in recent weeks as Venezuela’s de facto leader. (NAN)
