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UNITED NATIONS, April 10-- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called for a political solution to the Venezuela crisis and asked for the lifting of unilateral sanctions against the country. "China calls on the Venezuelan government and opposition to seek a political solution through dialogue and consultations within the constitutional and legal framework," Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council. China supports the Venezuelan government's efforts to safeguard the sovereignty, independence and stability of the country and holds that Venezuelan affairs should be handled independently by the Venezuelan people themselves, said Ma. China's position on the Security Council's involvement in the Venezuela issue has been consistent and clear, he said. "Our point of departure has always been to uphold the spirit of the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations, promote a peaceful settlement of the Venezuela issue and maintain long-term peace and development in Latin America." "China opposes the interference in Venezuela's internal affairs by external forces, opposes military intervention in Venezuela and opposes the use of the so-called humanitarian issue to achieve political aims," said Ma. He called on relevant countries to lift unilateral sanctions against Venezuela. History has proven repeatedly that unilateral sanctions will only further complicate situations and affect people's everyday life. It will not help resolve problems, nor will it bring peace to a country, he said. | 
