Held talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros

On the afternoon of September 13th, President Xi Jinping held talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People. The two heads of state announced the upgrade of China Venezuela relations to an all-weather strategic partnership.

On the afternoon of September 13th, President Xi Jinping held talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros,, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photographed by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Bin

President Xi Jinping pointed out that China and Venezuela are good friends and partners for mutual trust and common development. In recent years, both China and Venezuela have gone through an extraordinary development process, supporting each other in the ever-changing international situation and forming a "steadfast" friendship. China has always viewed the development of relations with Venezuela from a strategic and long-term perspective, firmly supporting Venezuela's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, national dignity, and social stability, and firmly supporting Venezuela's just cause of opposing external interference. The establishment of an all-weather strategic partnership between China and Venezuela is in line with the common expectations of the two peoples and conforms to the trend of historical development. Both sides need to promote more fruitful strategic cooperation between China and Venezuela, bring more benefits to the two peoples, and inject more positive energy into world peace and development.

President Xi Jinping introduced the situation of China's reform and opening up, especially the construction of special economic zones, and pointed out that reform and opening up is an important weapon for China to catch up with the times with great strides, and a key move to determine the fate of contemporary China. China cherishes the valuable experience gained in this process and will continue to push forward the reform and opening up. No force can hinder the pace of China's development and progress. China is willing to firmly support Venezuela in exploring development paths that are in line with their national conditions, strengthen the exchange of experience in party and state governance, support Venezuela in establishing special economic zones, and share relevant experiences with Venezuela to help Venezuela promote national construction.

President Xi Jinping pointed out that next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Venezuela, and both sides should extend their sincere wishes. The Chinese side is willing to closely engage in cultural and cultural exchanges with Venezuela, support the development of Chinese language teaching and the establishment of Confucius Institutes in Venezuela, strengthen media exchanges, and tell good stories of China Venezuela friendship. Both sides should conscientiously implement the results of the 17th meeting of the China Venezuela Senior Mixed Committee and strengthen practical cooperation in various fields in the next stage. China is willing to expand the import of high-quality and characteristic products from Venezuela. Congratulations to Venezuela on becoming the first country in the Americas to join the international lunar research station cooperation initiated by China. Both sides should closely cooperate in multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations and the Group of 77 and China, strengthen unity and cooperation with other developing countries, jointly uphold the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries. China attaches great importance to the development of China Latin America relations. Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China Latin America Forum. China is willing to work with countries in Venezuela and other regions to promote overall cooperation between China and Latin America and jointly build a community with a shared future.

President Nicolás Maduro Moros stated that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has become a great country committed to peace, development, and well-being for all mankind, and is also an important engine for promoting a multipolar new world. What I saw and heard during my visit to China fully demonstrates China's progress and strength. I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to the CPC on its great achievements. The friendship between Venezuela and China is profound, and cooperation has yielded fruitful results. The relationship between the two countries can be regarded as a model of global southern relations. The Venezuelan people sincerely thank the Chinese government and people for their valuable support and help when Venezuela suffered from multiple difficulties such as illegal unilateral sanctions and the COVID-19 epidemic. Thanks to the help of our Chinese brothers, the Venezuelan people have withstood the test and achieved remarkable achievements in the country's economic construction. At present, Venezuela's national development and Venezuela China relations are both in an important period. My state visit to China and together with President Xi Jinping, I announced that elevating Venezuela China relations to an all-weather strategic partnership is of historical significance and will inevitably usher in a new era of Venezuela China relations. The Venezuelan side is willing to learn from China's experience in building special economic zones and deepen practical cooperation in fields such as agriculture, investment, education, and tourism between the two countries. Venezuela actively supports the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", supports President Xi Jinping's global development initiative, global security initiative, and global civilization initiative, and is willing to work closely with China in communication and cooperation within the United Nations, the BRICS mechanism and other multilateral frameworks, safeguard the legitimate interests of multilateralism and developing countries, and promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. The Venezuelan side is willing to play a positive role in promoting the further development of relations between the Latin American Community and China.

After the talks, the two heads of state jointly witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents in the areas of jointly building the "the Belt and Road", economy and trade, education, tourism, science and technology, health, aerospace, civil aviation and other fields.

The two sides issued a joint statement on the establishment of an all-weather strategic partnership between the People's Republic of China and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Prior to the talks, President Xi Jinping held a welcome ceremony for President Nicolás Maduro Moros at the square outside the East Gate of the Great Hall of the People.

When President Nicolás Maduro Moros arrived, the ceremonial soldiers lined up to pay tribute. The heads of state of the two countries boarded the review platform, the military band played the national anthems of China and Venezuela, and 21 salutes were fired at Tiananmen Square. President Maduro, accompanied by President Xi Jinping, reviewed the Chinese People's Liberation Army Honor Guard and watched the parade.

On the afternoon of September 13th, President Xi Jinping held talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Prior to the talks, President Xi Jinping held a welcome ceremony for President Nicolás Maduro Moros at the square outside the East Gate of the Great Hall of the People. Photographed by Ding Lin, a journalist from Xinhua News Agency

Wang Yi participated in the above activities.