Trump Declares "American Periphery," Xi Jinping Declares "Benevolent Power"
US President Trump declared the "periphery of the American continent to be American territory," and Chinese President Xi Jinping summoned South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, described him as a "benevolent power," and said that "patience is needed" regarding calls for intervention on the Korean Peninsula.
President Trump declared the "American Periphery" to be "American," and the US State Department officially announced on the 5th through X that "no security violations are permitted in the Western Hemisphere."
President Trump likened this to the "Monroe Doctrine," which was the 19th-century military intervention in Latin American countries to eliminate interference from European powers, calling it the "Monroe Doctrine" (a new term referring to Trump's version of the Monroe Doctrine).
President Trump then told reporters, "(Referring to South America, the Western Hemisphere is our region." The U.S. State Department justified its military operation in Venezuela on the 5th in a post on X (formerly Twitter), claiming the Western Hemisphere, the fringes of the American continent, as "our land."
President Trump then stated, "We will never allow our security to be threatened."
President Xi Jinping, during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung in Beijing on the 5th, contrasted the Trump administration's attacks with China's "neighborhood diplomacy."
At the South Korea-China summit, President Xi completely excluded political issues like "international politics" and "security" from his remarks, while President Lee exclusively addressed topics like "the Korean Peninsula and North Korea." This same approach was repeated during his meetings with National People's Congress Chairman Zhao Liji and Premier Li Qiang, effectively blocking any approach beyond "political trust."
On the 6th, when asked whether Beijing would welcome future cultural exports from South Korea, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided its sole commentary on the summit, telling Reuters, "China and South Korea have agreed to conduct cultural exchanges in an orderly manner."
Conversely, the Blue House announced that "President Lee's visit to China marked the complete restoration of South Korea-China relations," while South Korean media outlets reported his successive meetings with top Chinese power brokers as a "restored relationship."
On the 7th, President Lee held an unscheduled press conference with South Korean reporters in Shanghai, broadcast live on YouTube. He announced, "I have asked China to mediate on Korean Peninsula issues, including North Korea's nuclear program. President Xi Jinping has praised our efforts to date and emphasized the need for patience." He added, "Because there is a long-standing animosity between the South and the North, it will take considerable time and effort for dialogue to begin. China will also strive to play a certain role."
This statement conveyed President Xi's approach to mediating conflicts between neighboring countries, suggesting a "patient and wait-and-see approach" to neighboring countries.
President Lee's remarks appear to have been followed by no further comments on international relations, as President Xi, aside from his "wait-and-see" request, did not provide specific details.
In his first statement on the Venezuelan attack on the 5th, President Xi called it a "unilateral act of bullying" that "severely undermined the international order," and expressed "deep shock" at the "blatant use of force."
Hourly before U.S. special forces conducted a daring raid to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a senior Chinese envoy met with the Venezuelan leader at the presidential palace.
During the Chinese envoy's visit, Trump's special forces attacked, arrested, and deported Maduro to the United States. China's special envoy for Latin America, Chu Xiaoqi, met with President Maduro at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on the 2nd, and their meeting was broadcast on local television.
The New York Times reported on the 6th that "China's special envoy for Latin America, Chu Xiaoqi, met with Venezuelan President Maduro on Friday, according to photos released by the Venezuelan government, just hours before U.S. special forces arrested Mr. Maduro in a raid." "Venezuela, led by hard-liners who challenge the United States, shares ideological ties with Chinese Communist Party leaders and has been the largest recipient of Chinese loans and the largest buyer of Chinese military equipment in the region.
Beijing has upgraded its bilateral relationship with Venezuela to one of the highest levels, an 'all-weather strategic partnership,'" the Times reported on the 6th.
The New York Times said of the meeting, “It was a show of support for one of Beijing’s closest partners in the Western Hemisphere,” and that “the swift action by the U.S. military to arrest Mr. Maduro sent a blunt message to Beijing about how limited American military influence is in a region Washington considers its own, and that China, despite decades of investment and billions of dollars in loans, is at risk of losing its footing in Venezuela after the Caracas attack on March 3.”
The White House characterized the Maduro arrest operation as part of what President Trump calls the “Donro Doctrine,” an updated version of the “Monroe Doctrine.”
The Times added, “A world divided into spheres of influence, with the U.S. dominating the Western Hemisphere and China asserting dominance across the Asia-Pacific, where might prevails regardless of common rules, could benefit Beijing in many ways.”
Xi Jinping, meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung in Beijing on March 5, once again drew a contrast between the Trump administration’s attacks and China’s “neighborhood diplomacy.” He appeared to emphasize this, defining China as a "benevolent major power" and stating that Beijing and Seoul were able to achieve "harmony without uniformity" by resolving "differences through dialogue and consultation."
Trump's top aide Stephen Miller told CNN host Jake Tapper on the 5th, "No one would engage in a military conflict with the United States over the future of Greenland."
When CNN host Jake Tapper repeatedly asked him whether he would "rule out the use of military force," Miller responded, "We live in a real world dominated by force, force, and power, Jake." “This has been the law of the world since the beginning,” he said.
The New York Times said, “These remarks were part of a powerful argument by Miller, who has long played a powerful role behind the Trump administration’s policies, to justify American imperialism and his vision of a new world order in which the United States can freely overthrow national governments and seize foreign territories and resources.”
Miller also reiterated Trump’s intention to rule Venezuela and exploit its vast oil reserves after a U.S. raid that arrested President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in Caracas, saying, “The United States is running Venezuela,” and that international treaties guaranteeing a country’s independence and sovereignty are “international courtesy.”
While a top aide used the word “run,” Secretary of State Rubio said Trump is very much “responsible” for Venezuela, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-PA), a strong advocate of military operations in Venezuela, said, “The United States is not involved in military hostilities or occupation.”
Miller said the U.S. military blockade of Venezuela, a country of 28 million people, would put the U.S. in control of the country. "We set the terms. We have a complete embargo on all their oil and commercial capabilities. So, if they want to do commerce, they need our permission. If they want to run their economy, they need our permission. So, the U.S. is in control. The United States is running the country,” he said.
The U.S. military operation in Venezuela could have the opposite effect, shifting the mainstay of its military away from Asia.
The New York Times reported that “when the Chinese military ignores the disputed waters of the South China Sea and threatens the democratic island of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, it could weaken Washington’s criticism of Beijing.” Beijing has long been a vocal critic of Washington’s strategy of containing China, including stationing troops in Japan and South Korea and deploying U.S. Navy ships in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
It has also criticized Washington’s moves to deepen security ties with India and help Australia develop nuclear-powered submarines.
Rush Dorsey, a China expert at Georgetown University and the Council on Foreign Relations, told the Times that the Caracas attack “further weakens the great power norms of the use of force, which have been gradually weakened over the past two decades, and that’s effective for Beijing.”
He added that “more importantly, if it distracts the United States by being tied to Venezuela, it’s even better for Beijing.”
Xi Jinping, in turn, believes that China, in contrast to the United States, is trustworthy. He portrayed Taiwan as a powerful regional pillar, capable of supporting and bolstering its neighbors in the trade war with President Trump, and South Korea was chosen as his first work.
The New York Times reported, “At a high-level Communist Party conference on regional diplomacy, Premier Xi Jinping called for the region to be governed by ‘Asian values,’ Asian supply chains, and an Asian security model in which countries share ‘welfare and pain.’” He added, “Indeed, China has not hesitated to use its enormous economic power for coercion and its abundant modern military to intimidate its neighbors.”
Just before the Venezuelan incursion, China launched more than 20 long-range rockets into the waters around Taiwan last week, surrounded it with bombers, fighter jets, and warships, and staged a two-day show of force in response to the Trump administration’s approval of more than $10 billion in arms sales to Taiwan. This was followed by announcing economic sanctions against Japan for its support of Taiwan.
The New York Times noted, “None of this Chinese action on Taiwan suggests that the Venezuelan incident is a reason for adjusting Taiwan policy,” adding, “Chinese leaders have long considered the island another U.S. threat.” "China has always considered this a domestic issue that must be resolved in its own way, regardless of the measures taken," he said, describing it as a "domestic issue" separate from Venezuela.
However, China has been clear about its perception of power in its neighboring regions.
Former Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in a 2010 meeting with Southeast Asian officials regarding the South China Sea, "China is a big country, and other countries are small. That's just a fact."
Professor Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said, "The United States took these measures while the Chinese delegation was visiting Venezuela. “This is a very embarrassing situation for China,” he told the Times, adding that the attack “will have implications for relations between Washington and Beijing.”
“The fact that this happened during a visit by a Chinese delegation suggests a potential failure by Chinese intelligence and diplomats,” Ja Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore (NUS), told the Times.
It is unclear whether China has had any contact with Venezuela since Maduro’s ouster.
The Times cited analysts as saying, “While the two administrations maintain close relations, China has grown frustrated with corruption and resource mismanagement under Maduro since he took power in 2013.” “With billions of dollars in outstanding loans piling up, China has effectively halted lending to Caracas for more than eight years.”
“Venezuela is a headache for China now, but it’s a headache worth having,” said Ryan C. Berg, director of the Americas program and director of the Venezuela Future Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “Beijing is "They saw Maduro as a complete clown, but in many ways, he was their clown as long as he was in power," he told the New York Times.
Secretary of State Rubio, in a confidential meeting with senior congressional leaders on the 5th, presented Venezuela's new leader, Delcy Rodriguez, with a list of demands the Trump administration makes, including that the new Venezuelan government forcibly remove spies and soldiers from Cuba, Russia, China and Iran, and that some diplomats be allowed to remain in Venezuela.
The New York Times reported this in a separate article on the 6th, citing an anonymous State Department official, regarding a "confidential meeting."
According to two US officials, shortly after Delta Force soldiers captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transferred them to a US warship, Secretary Rubio called Vice President Rodriguez.
The Times said, "It's unclear whether the Trump administration's demands were revealed in that initial call or in a later conversation."
Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton told CNN on the 4th that Secretary Rubio was also in contact with Maduro government officials and the opposition movement. Venezuela's pro-US opposition is led by Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in October.
Her ally, Edmundo Gonzalez, is expected to win the 2024 presidential election against Maduro by a wide margin, according to international election experts and Biden administration officials. Gonzalez fled to Spain after Maduro remained in power.
Secretary Rubio spoke with two Venezuelan opposition leaders on January 22nd of last year, his second day as Secretary of State, calling Gonzalez "the legitimate president" and reaffirming "United States support for the restoration of democracy in Venezuela," the State Department said in an official summary of the call.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado subsequently won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, and in 2024, Rubio, then a Florida senator and the son of Cuban immigrants, and seven other Republican senators wrote a formal letter to Machado endorsing his nomination.
Last fall, when the CIA infiltration of Venezuela began, Secretary Rubio advised President Trump to “support Mr. Rodriguez in a leadership role if Maduro can no longer hold power,” the New York Times reported.
The New York Times reported that “Rubio claimed that Nobel Peace Prize winner Machado had little support within the military, a view echoed by a recent classified CIA analysis,” and that “President Trump later said she ‘lacked respect’ in the country.”
Rubio has not spoken about “restoring democracy” to Venezuela in the months since, and President Trump has said little about it.
Dr. Francesca Emanuele, a Latin American researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, said many Trump supporters reject this as a “suspiciously neoconservative” ideology. “This outcome is likely to be destabilizing, given Rubio’s long history as one of Machado’s strongest allies in Washington,” Emanuele said of Rubio’s “political isolation,” adding that domestically, Rubio’s key challenge has been managing pressure from the Florida Republican base and his own state legislators.
Many of these are Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Machado. He had hoped for a US-led regime change operation to install an opposition government led by Gonzalez, but instead, he pointed to Machado and Gonzalez being excluded from the new Venezuelan government, and the "head-on clash with their support base" as a "negative impact on the November midterm elections."
Secretary Rubio told NBC News on the 4th that Nobel laureate Machado was "great," but added, "Unfortunately, the majority of the opposition is no longer in Venezuela."
Mr. Machado escaped the blockade aboard a secret US-funded ship for Prime Minister Nonel, then flew to Sweden via Florida on a private plane.
Secretary Rubio, a Republican power broker elected by Macha supporters, "is better suited to President Trump's volatile worldview, where dealmaking takes precedence over ideology," the New York Times said. If the establishment of a pro-US government in Venezuela fails in Florida, a traditionally hard-line conservative state, it is expected to raise alarms about the midterm elections.
President Trump On the 6th, Trump addressed House Republicans at the Kennedy Center, saying, "You must win the midterm elections. If we don't, they (the Democratic Party) will find a reason to impeach me."
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