China on Tuesday expressed its respect for Venezuela's referendum result and said it was glad for the smooth operation of the referendum.

In response to questions on the Venezuela referendum, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said China respects the Venezuelan people's efforts in choosing a national destiny within the framework of their constitution.

Venezuela's National Election Council released the referendum results Monday morning, which showed that President Hugo Chavez had survived the referendum to recall him, with 58.25 percent of the electorate voting for him to remain in office and 41.74 percent voting against.

Kong said China believes that under the leadership of President Chavez, the Venezuelan people will continue to make new achievements in their efforts of maintaining national stability and economic development.

China and Venezuela are friends and China has always attached great importance to the relations with Venezuela, Kong said. "China is willing to join with Venezuela to push forward the bilateral friendly and cooperative relations."

Source: Xinhua