MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US threatens to pull out of IADB meeting in China if Guaidó's representative is not allowed to attend

China, one of the Venezuelan government’s few allies, had proposed not inviting representatives from either Maduro or Guaido camps to “de-politicize” the meeting

The United States on Thursday threatened to pull out of the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in China next week if Beijing refuses to allow a representative of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to attend.

The Washington-based IADB, the biggest lender to Latin America, voted last week to replace Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s board representative with Harvard economist Ricardo Hausmann, who is backed by Guaido.

China, one of the Venezuelan government’s few remaining international allies, had proposed not inviting representatives from either the Maduro or Guaido camps to “de-politicize” the meeting.

Discussions to try to resolve the issue are ongoing among IADB member countries, and a final decision has not yet been taken. But a senior official in President Donald Trump’s administration - which has backed Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate ruler - said the United States and its regional allies would “pull quorum” from the meeting in Chengdu if Hausmann was excluded.

The move likely would derail the meetings, which bring together finance and development ministers from the lender’s 48 member countries.

“China’s unwillingness to recognize and provide a visa to Hausmann is a breach of long-established Inter-American Development Bank protocols and procedures,” the U.S. official said.

“If China refuses to recognize and provide Hausmann a visa, the United States and its regional partners will pull quorum on the annual meeting,” the official added.

It is the first time the IADB is holding its annual meeting in China, which has become a major player in Latin America and has poured more than US$ 50 billion into Venezuela over the past decade in oil-for-loan agreements.

With relations between Washington and Beijing marred by an acrimonious trade dispute, U.S. officials have expressed concern in recent months at China’s growing influence in Latin America - a region Washington has long regarded as its backyard.

The U.S. Treasury’s top economic diplomat, David Malpass, last year urged the IADB to reconsider its decision to mark its 60th anniversary in China, saying the gathering should be held in the Americas.