BEIJING — The lawsuit against Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA filed by Sinopec's US subsidiary is a common commercial dispute and China believes in Venezuela's ability to deal with its debt, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

The subsidiary of Sinopec, China's leading oil company, recently filed a lawsuit in a Houston federal court against PDVSA over unpaid bills.

"This is an ordinary commercial dispute and there is no need to read too much into it," Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing.

The two sides are seeking to solve problems at an early date through friendly negotiations, Geng said.

China attaches great importance to the development of China-Venezuela relations and believes that the Venezuelan government and people are capable of handling their debt issue properly, he said.

"We are willing to continue pragmatic cooperation with Venezuela in various fields on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and common development," said the spokesperson.