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![Photo taken on Jan. 10, 2009 shows the Bamari land station in El Sombrero, some 300 kilometers south of Caracas, Venezuela [Xinhua]](http://thebricspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/124079163_4.jpg)
Photo taken on Jan. 10, 2009 shows the Bamari land station in El Sombrero, some 300 kilometers south of Caracas, Venezuela [Xinhua]
The satellite will be named after the independence hero Antonio Jose de Sucre, with preceding satellites also named after 19th-century South American independence heroes.
The agreement, which was inked in the presence of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was signed between the Venezuelan government and China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), China’s sole commercial satellite launch service provider.
“I want to celebrate the agreement to build and launch our third satellite in cooperation with China. Now we’ll be more technologically independent with this new tool,” said Maduro at the signing ceremony.
China will also expand satellite technology transfer to Venezuela, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during his visit to Caracas in July this year.
In 2008 China launched Venezuela’s first satellite – the Venesat-1, or “Simon Bolivar”, named after independence leader Simon Bolivar – to carry communications gear.
Venezuela’s second satellite, a remote sensing satellite, was also launched from China in 2012, amied at carrying out land resource inspections, environmental protection, disaster detection and management, crop yield estimation and city planning.
China has granted a $4 billion credit line to Venezuela in return for oil and other products as President Xi Jinping wrapped up a 2-day visit to the South American nation in July.
During the leadership of its late iconic leader Hugo Chavez, Venezuela expanded its use of loan-for-oil agreements with China.
China-Venezuela bilateral trade increased from $1.4 million 40 years ago when diplomatic ties were first established to a whopping $19.2 billion in 2013.
Source: Agencies
