China warned on Tuesday that US sanctions against Venezuela's state oil company will hurt the livelihoods of ordinary people and complicate the situation in the crisis-hit country.

The sanctions announced Monday hit PDVSA just as embattled President Nicolas Maduro faces a challenge from opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has won the backing of the United States and other Western nations.

"We oppose unilateral sanctions," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing.

"Historical experience has proved that external interference or sanctions will only complicate the situation and will not help solve practical problems," Geng said.

The sanctions "will lead to a deterioration of the people's livelihoods in Venezuela, and (those who imposed them) should be responsible for the serious consequences," he said.

China is a key financial back of the Venezuelan government. Asked on Tuesday whether China still recognises Maduro as president, Geng repeated that Beijing sent a special representative to his inauguration earlier this month.

Russia has also refused to turn its back on Maduro, slamming the sanctions as "illegal".

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

EU's Iran payments vehicle ready - but stuck
Brussels (AFP) Jan 28, 2019
A payment mechanism the EU hopes will save the Iran nuclear deal by bypassing US sanctions is ready, diplomats said Monday, but is held up by disagreements among European countries. The "Special Purpose Vehicle" is being put together by Germany, France and Britain, the European signatories to the 2015 accord that curbed Tehran's nuclear ambitions in return for sanctions reilef. The entity, to be based in France with German governance and finance from all three countries, will allow Iran to recei ... read more