Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Nicolas Maduro on his re-election as Venezuela's head of state on Monday, the official press reported.
"Since taking office, [Maduro] has led the Venezuelan government and its people to choose a development path that suits their national conditions, making great achievements in national construction," Xi said, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The Chinese leader said that China and Venezuela are "good friends who trust each other" and "good partners working for common development."
"China will, as always, firmly support Venezuela's efforts to safeguard its national sovereignty and dignity, as well as Venezuela's sovereignty and just cause of opposing external interference," he added.
In the same message, Xi Jinping said he hopes to work with Maduro "to continue to elevate the strategic partnership between China and Venezuela to new heights against all odds, to benefit our two peoples."
Alongside this personal message from Xi Jinping, Beijing also called for “respect for the choice made by the Venezuelan people”, after some countries and organisations questioned the legitimacy of the presidential elections held last Sunday.
In the months leading up to the elections, China reaffirmed its support for “the sovereignty and independence” of Venezuela and its desire for the government of the South American country to conduct the electoral process in accordance with “its constitution and national laws” and “without external interference”.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Venezuela and China.
The disputed official results of the presidential elections in Venezuela, which gave victory to Maduro with 51.2% of the vote, sparked protests in Caracas and in several regions of the country on Monday, some of which were repressed by the military and with reports of fatalities and arrests.
The Venezuelan opposition claims victory for its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, and disputes the results released by the National Electoral Council (CNE).
Beijing maintains good relations with the Venezuelan President, who is isolated on the international stage, and is one of the main creditors of the Latin American country, whose Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has fallen 80% in 10 years due to a serious economic crisis.
Venezuela, a country with a significant community of Portuguese and Portuguese descendants, is seeking China's support to revive its economy, which has been hit by one of the worst inflation rates in the world.
In September, during a meeting in Beijing with Nicolás Maduro, Chinese President Xi Jinping raised relations between China and Venezuela to their highest protocol level.
Only a few countries - Pakistan, Russia and Belarus - are entitled to this treatment.
