Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday.

After their talks, both leaders witnessed the signing of multiple bilateral cooperation documents in areas such as the Belt and Road Initiative, trade, education, tourism and science.

A joint statement was issued on the establishment of an all-weather strategic partnership between China and Venezuela. China is the main trade partner of Venezuela. In the first half of the year, bilateral trade rose 16 percent year-on-year to $1.92 billion, customs data showed.