A statement from the Foreign Ministry in Beijing expressed great dismay at the development in which the United States attacked Venezuela and captured its autocratic leader.
China condemned the U.S. actions on Friday, but in a somewhat harsher statement published on Sunday, it demanded that Nicolás Maduro and his wife be "immediately released."
The statement said the United States should also stop trying to overthrow Venezuela's government and instead resolve the matter through dialogue.
China, along with Russia, has supported Venezuela's socialist and autocratic government. Just hours before the U.S. attack, Nicolás Maduro received a Chinese envoy for a meeting at the presidential palace in Caracas.
