China's Xi says 'upgrading' Venezuela ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that an "upgrading of China-Venezuela relations" in a meeting with his counterpart Nicolas Maduro. The Venezuelan leader arrived in Beijing on Tuesday after a tour of Shanghai and other Chinese cities. The 60-year-old Maduro is seeking to secure membership for Venezuela in BRICS, a bloc of emerging economies.

China "will, as always, firmly support the efforts of Venezuela to safeguard national sovereignty, national dignity and social stability, and firmly support Venezuela's just cause of opposing foreign interference," Xi told Maduro, while also saying he would work to deepen cooperation between the two countries. The Venezuelan leader is expected to stay in China until Thursday for his first state visit to the country since 2018.