Li Shulei, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), on Thursday met in Beijing with a delegation from the Bulgarian Socialist Party led by Atanas Zafirov, the party leader and deputy prime minister of Bulgaria.
Li, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said that the China-Bulgaria strategic partnership has been developing at a high level.
China is willing to work with Bulgaria to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen exchanges between the two parties, enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and deepen cooperation across various fields to advance the bilateral relations, Li noted.
Zafirov highly commended China's peaceful foreign policy and the great achievements of Chinese modernization, expressing readiness to enhance inter-party exchanges, strengthen mutual learning, and promote Bulgaria-China cooperation as well as the development of Europe-China relations.
Senior CPC official meets Bulgarian Socialist Party delegation
Demonstrators from civil groups, labor unions and other communities in South Africa rallied outside the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg on Friday, denouncing U.S. unilateral military actions against Venezuela and voicing solidarity with the Latin American nation.
They gathered along the street in front of the consulate, carrying banners that read "Hands Off Venezuela" and "Stop Imperialism," chanting slogans against U.S. hegemony and aggression.
"We are here to protest the U.S. threats to global peace, the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro Moros of Venezuela, which was done in violation of international law, in violation of territorial integrity of Venezuela, of course, in violation of national sovereignty of Venezuela," said Solly Afrika Mapaila, general secretary of the South African Communist Party.
In the early hours of Jan. 3, the United States carried out a military strike against Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, taking them to the United States.
Some protesters said the crisis in Venezuela shows how geopolitical struggles have direct and immediate effects on ordinary people's lives.
"Venezuela belongs to the people of Venezuela and nobody else. For American belligerent and colonial aggression, quite frankly, is not just something very distant. Never before have questions of geopolitics been of immediate and direct relevance and direct and immediate impacts on the day-to-day lives of ordinary people, as you are seeing today," said Mametlwe Sebei, president of the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA).
Placards at the rally blended English and Spanish slogans, while some demonstrators sang liberation songs from South Africa's anti-apartheid era to express solidarity. Passing motorists slowed in front of the consulate, honking in support.
Defying the summer heat, the crowd remained spirited and resolute, their chants echoing along the street in a clear call for an end to foreign interference and respect for Venezuela's sovereignty.
South Africans rally in solidarity with Venezuela against U.S. aggression
South Africans rally in solidarity with Venezuela against U.S. aggression
South Africans rally in solidarity with Venezuela against U.S. aggression
