Trump Explicitly Names "China," Guarantees Oil Supply to Xi Following Maduro Capture

MAR-A-LAGO – During a Saturday morning press conference addressing the U.S. military operation in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump explicitly named "China," directly addressing Beijing’s interests in the region and asserting the strength of his personal diplomacy with President Xi Jinping.

"I have a good relationship with Xi," Trump told reporters at the 11:00 a.m. ET event. Addressing potential geopolitical fallout from U.S. strikes on the Maduro regime, Trump stated definitively that "China won't have a problem with the operation," promising that "they will get oil."

The President's specific enunciation of the word "China" and his direct address to Beijing's energy anxieties provide a definitive signal for observers tracking the administration's rhetoric. China has historically been a primary financial backer of the Maduro regime and a major purchaser of Venezuelan crude. The U.S. strikes earlier this week, which targeted infrastructure linked to Maduro, had raised fears of a retaliatory severing of supply chains.

Trump’s comments suggest a transactional evolution of the "Trump Corollary" doctrine: decoupling military tensions in the Western Hemisphere from global economic necessities. By publicly guaranteeing China’s access to oil—likely referencing supply from U.S.-controlled sources or sanctioned entities like Iran—Trump appears to be preempting interference from Beijing while enforcing U.S. hegemony in the Americas.

Regarding the timeline of communication, while the President emphasized his "good relationship" with Xi, he did not explicitly confirm if a specific phone call or video conference had taken place between the two leaders since January 1, 2026. However, his assurance that Beijing "won't have a problem" implies either an active channel of communication or a unilateral intent to manage the bilateral relationship personally amidst the fallout of the Venezuela operation and recent tensions surrounding Taiwan.

For analysts, the remarks confirm that the Venezuelan intervention is being managed with a keen eye on Great Power competition, prioritizing resource stability to ensure Chinese neutrality during the leadership transition in Caracas.