President Dr Irfaan Ali and Chinese Ambassador to Guyana Yang Yang have discussed the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy, including the role China must play in ensuring the region remains a zone of peace.
This was disclosed by President Ali on Thursday evening during a reception to commemorate the 53rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Guyana and China.
“Ambassador, we’ve already had many discussions on ways in which we can advance our partnership, discussions surrounding every aspect of our national life including the safeguarding of our sovereignty and territorial integrity and the role China must play in ensuring this region remains peaceful and that our neighbours in a just manner follow what we all believe in, that is, international order and the rule of law, and respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” President Ali said.
In April, Guyana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation issued a statement noting that it has “taken note that there has been no comment from the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the blatant announcement by the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that it intends to conduct elections on 25 May 2025 for a governor and legislative council of “Guayana Esequiba State”, which is the name Venezuela has given to Guyana’s Essequibo region. This is a clear violation of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
While China has traditionally refrained from commenting on the border controversy, it had previously called for peace to prevail between Guyana and Venezuela back in 2023.
At a December 6, 2023 press conference in Beijing, China’s former Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, was asked by French news agency AFP about the Guyana-Venezuela border issue.
The former spokesman was asked whether China, a “firm” ally of Venezuela while also maintaining friendly relations with Guyana, supported Venezuela’s unjust claims on Guyana’s territory, and whether the country was worried about a possible invasion.
In response, he had said, “Venezuela and Guyana are both China’s good friends. China always respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. China always supports the two countries in properly settling the issue of demarcation of their boundary through friendly consultation. This is in the interests of the people of both countries, and conducive to the stability, cooperation and development of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Venezuela is claiming two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass – the entire Essequibo region – and a portion of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) offshore, where more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) have been discovered in the prolific Stabroek Block.
Chinese state-owned oil company, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), is one of the partners operating in the oil-rich Stabroek Block with a 25 per cent working interest.
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