China’s top diplomat kicks off a New Year trip to Africa on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said, seeking to boost trade on a four-country circuit that includes several recent political hotspots.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s tour of the continent’s east and south will take him to Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho, concluding on Monday, the ministry said in a statement.

The visits are in keeping with the Chinese diplomatic convention of recent decades, whereby the foreign minister’s first overseas trip of the year is to Africa.

The current tour “aims to deepen political mutual trust with all parties… (and) strengthen exchanges and mutual learning”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Wednesday at a regular news conference.

China is Africa’s top business partner, with trade reaching $296 billion in 2024, according to Chinese state media.

Beijing has sent hundreds of thousands of workers and engineers to the continent and gained strategic access to its vast mineral riches, including copper, gold and lithium.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that interim authorities in Venezuela will turn over between 30 and 50 million barrels of high-quality sanctioned oil to the United States, following the recent U.S. military operation that removed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated: “I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 Million Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America.

This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!

“The president added that he has directed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute the plan immediately, with the oil to be transported via storage ships directly to U.S. unloading docks.

The announcement comes amid ongoing developments in Venezuela, where the oil—previously held in storage due to U.S. sanctions—is estimated to be worth up to $2.8 billion at current market prices around $56 per barrel.

Analysts note that this volume represents a modest addition to global supply but could divert exports previously destined for China.U.S. crude futures dipped slightly following the news, closing lower by about 1.3%. Major U.S. oil companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips, are reportedly monitoring the situation, with meetings planned between industry representatives and the administration to discuss future investments in Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

The deal marks a significant step in Trump’s stated goal of revitalizing Venezuela’s oil sector, which holds the world’s largest proven reserves but has seen production decline sharply in recent years due to sanctions, underinvestment, and mismanagement.

Collage: U.S. President Donald Trump; Colombian President Gustavo; Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Monday he was ready to “take up arms” in the face of threats from US counterpart Donald Trump, who over the weekend seized the leader of neighbouring Venezuela in a military strike.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum told Trump that Americas “do not belong” to any power, dismissing Washington’s “dominance” of the hemisphere after seizing Venezuela’s leader in a military raid.

Petro, a former guerrilla who for months had been the target of insults and threats from Trump, said on X: “I swore not to touch a weapon again… but for the homeland I will take up arms again.”

In reaction, Trump said that Petro should “watch his ass” and described Colombia’s first-ever leftist leader as “a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”

Petro, whose M-19 urban guerrilla group disarmed under a 1989 peace agreement, has traded barbs with Trump ever since the Republican’s return to the White House in January.

Petro has been a vocal critic of the US military deployment in the Caribbean, which began with blowing up of alleged drug boats, before expanding to seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers, then Saturday’s raid on Caracas to seize President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump accused the Colombian leader, without providing evidence, of being involved in drug trafficking and hit him and his family with financial sanctions.

Washington also removed Colombia from a list of countries certified as allies in the US war on drugs.

In a long message on X, Petro insisted that his anti-narcotics policy is sufficiently robust, but stressed there were limits to how aggressive the military can be.

“If you bomb even one of these groups without sufficient intelligence, you will kill many children. If you bomb peasants, thousands will turn into guerrillas in the mountains. And if you detain the president, whom a good part of my people love and respect, you will unleash the popular jaguar,” he wrote.

Trump, emphasising that American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again,” Mexico’s President Sheinbaum hit back Monday, saying: “The Americas do not belong to any doctrine or any power. The American continent belongs to the peoples of each of the countries that comprise it.”

The Americas comprise North and South

North America includes 23 independent countries, featuring large nations like Canada, the United States, and Mexico, along with Central American nations (e.g., Costa Rica, Panama) and Caribbean island nations (e.g., Cuba, Jamaica, Bahamas).

South America has 12 independent countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela, plus French Guiana.

US military forces early Saturday launched strikes on the Venezuelan capital Caracas and seized Maduro and his wife, flying them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.