Follow us on:   

Xi on Caracas visit to boost China-Venezuela ties
July 20, 2014, 9:48 am

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro takes part in his radio program "En Contacto con Maduro", in the Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 15, 2014 [Xinhua]

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro takes part in his radio program “En Contacto con Maduro”, in the Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 15, 2014 [Xinhua]

Continuing China’s engagement with developing world infrastructure and strengthening ties with emerging economies, Chinese President Xi Jinping is traveling to Venezuela on Sunday, the third stop in his high-profile Latin American trip this month. The region is scarred by a history of US-backed coups.

Xi will hold talks with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Sunday. Joint financing mechanisms between the two nations, including the China-Venezuela Fund, have amounted to over $50 billion.

Xi’s visit would also send a clear political signal of China’s support for Venezuela’s sovereignty and self-determination.

The country has, earlier this year, witnessed a wave of protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government.

Venezuela is a major oil supplier for energy-hungry China. The two sides had signed 24 agreements during President Nicolas Maduro’s visit to China last year.

Maduro and Xi will “ratify a series of development agreements” during his current trip, said Venezuelan state media reports. Bilateral trade reached $19.2 billion in 2013.

China’s Huawei, ZTE, Chery Automobile, Qianjiang Motorcycle and Haier have set up factories in Venezuela, boasting of a strong presence in the region.

The China Development Bank (CDB) opened an office in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela yesterday to promote bilateral trade.

Established in 1994, the state-owned CDB, is primarily responsible for funding large-scale infrastructure and international cooperation projects in developing countries. It has a branch in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil as well.

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA is involved in a processing plant in China’s southern Guangdong province, with 40 per cent of investment.

China has also launched two satellites for Venezuela since 2008 and preparing for a third.

In 2013, China transferred a telecom satellite facility it had built in Venezuela to the Venezuelan side after training its engineers.

The Venezuelan President had earlier this week attended the 6th BRICS Summit in Brasília. Maduro said he was particularly happy that the BRICS bloc and UNASUL were moving closer together. He suggested the two groups form a “working alliance,” and alluded to safeguards against “speculative financial capital,” likely to be in reference to the expansionary monetary policy of the United States.

TBP and Agencies