WASHINGTON, January 30. /TASS/. Venezuela has the right to manage its natural resources, and the United States is violating its sovereignty and international law by pressuring Caracas to grant preferential treatment in oil supplies, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told TASS.

"Venezuela is a sovereign state and has full permanent sovereignty over all its natural resources and economic activities," the diplomat said, commenting on statements by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that, according to the US, China would purchase Venezuelan oil at market prices. "The US blatantly used force against Venezuela and asked the country to 'favor' America with regard to its oil reserves. Such bullying seriously breaches international law, infringes on Venezuela’s sovereignty, and violates the rights of the Venezuelan people. China strongly condemns this," he added.

Earlier, US State Secretary Marco Rubio told a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that China had been buying Venezuelan oil at a huge discount. He added that China may buy oil from Venezuela, but they will have to do it "just like everybody else in the world, at a normal price."