00:00Venezuela's acting president says she is inviting the U.S. to work with her country
00:04after an American operation to capture President Nicolas Maduro.
00:08The U.S. swooped into caricatures over the weekend, seizing Maduro and flying him to New York
00:12to face drugs and weapons charges.
00:15President Trump earlier said the U.S. plans to run Venezuela, with elections due eventually.
00:21We're going to run everything. We're going to run it, fix it.
00:25We'll have elections at the right time.
00:27But the main thing you have to face is a broken country.
00:30Well, joining us now is Victor Gao, vice president at Center for China and Globalization.
00:36Victor was ex-Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's English interpreter in the 1980s.
00:41Victor, good to have you with us.
00:43What's your sense? How does Beijing view the strike that the U.S. made on Venezuela?
00:50I think China condemns such an act of aggression and intrusion into a sovereign country and hijacking or abducting head of state and the first lady.
01:05This is purely, in China's view, a violation of the international norms and international relations and a violation of the United Nations Charter.
01:15And if the United States can do this to Venezuela, the United States or any other country can do similar things to any other country.
01:21And what really drives President Trump and the U.S. government is to seize the oil assets in Venezuela.
01:28Now, this is not American assets. This is Venezuela assets.
01:32And for President Trump to pretend that he will run the affairs of Venezuela is very presumptuous in the least and also very much destabilizing the international relations.
01:44If any country can do this to the oil assets of Venezuela, they can do similar things to Saudi Arabia or to Qatar or to UAE.
01:52And where will be peace and stability in the world?
01:56So I think China wants to stand by the right side of the history.
02:01And the United States apparently, in China's view, is on the wrong side of history.
02:05This will not make America great again.
02:07This will really be a very dark moment in the U.S. history.
02:11And in my best judgment, history, we will look back upon this event as the beginning of the end of Pax Americana.
02:21Because the United States, through this act of aggression against Venezuela and against the sovereign president of Venezuela,
02:29is really starting a new phase in its development.
02:33It may eventually lead to the end of Pax Americana.
02:37No one in the world wants to be dominated by a promeneering country.
02:44Victor, might China be concerned about its own interests in Venezuela?
02:49Because by some calculations, China has lent Venezuela about $100 billion.
02:58Of course, China-Venezuela relations are very close.
03:01And we cooperate with each other fully.
03:03And this is all normal contracts.
03:07And for the United States to launch such a blatant act of aggression against Venezuela is a matter of great concern to China.
03:17And China wants to call for stability.
03:20And China wants to continue working relations with Venezuela, especially with the current government.
03:26And if there will be a new government, eventually, in due course, of course, China wants to maintain normal relations with the future government in Venezuela.
03:37But all this is no small matter because what the United States is doing is not only negatively impacting on the legitimate business interests of China and Venezuela,
03:50it really undermines international norms.
03:53And if this becomes a precedent, I think the United States will strike fear in many other countries in the world.
04:01And allow me to mention, philosophically, striking fear is not equivalent to gaining respect.
04:08Fear is not getting respect.
04:11And the United States will be better served if it gains respect rather than striking fear in other countries.
Comments