China on Monday congratulated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on his re-election, after a vote whose official results were immediately rejected by the country’s opposition and key regional nations.
“China congratulates Venezuela for smoothly holding its presidential election and congratulates President Maduro on his successful re-election,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular briefing.
“China stands ready to enrich our all-weather strategic partnership and better benefit the peoples of both countries,” he said.
“China and Venezuela are good friends and partners who support each other,” he added.
Beijing is Venezuela’s main creditor and has close ties with the diplomatically isolated, inflation-ravaged socialist nation.
Maduro visited China in September, meeting President Xi Jinping and declaring the “historic” visit was aimed at “strengthening cooperation and the construction of a new world order”.
The Venezuelan leader was declared the winner of Sunday’s presidential election with 51.2 percent of votes.
But Venezuela’s opposition coalition insisted it had garnered 70 percent of the vote, rejecting the figures from Maduro’s loyalist electoral authority.