“Strategic Alliance,” Expand Bilateral Trade
Public accords signing ceremony in Caracas, taken from Venezuelan TVPublished on December 25th 2009
by James Suggett -
Venezuelanalysis.com
Mérida, December 24th 2009 (Venezuelanalysis.com) –
Venezuelan and Chinese government officials and business
leaders met in Caracas this week to discuss bilateral
relations. As a result of the accords signed at the
meeting, Venezuela will increase its supply of oil to China
to more than 600,000 barrels per day next year, and China
will increase its investments in Venezuelan agriculture,
infrastructure, mining, and energy production.
In a press conference, Venezuelan Planning and Development
Minister Jorge Giordani called Venezuela’s growing economic
relationship with China “a consolidated strategic alliance
based on the premise of equality and mutual respect that
will be consolidated even more by two countries that have a
shared vision of a multi-polar world.”
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez vowed to supply China with
“all the oil it needs for its development and advancement”
and said Venezuela hopes to eventually supply a million
barrels of oil per day to China. According to Telesur,
Venezuela is currently China’s fourth largest oil supplier.
In addition, China’s Sinohydro Corporation and Venezuela’s
state electricity company CORPOELEC agreed to cooperate to
increase Venezuela’s hydroelectricity production. Venezuela
has experienced rolling power outages over the past three
months as a result of drastically increased demand and a
drought that caused a drop in the water level at a
principal dam.
The Chinese Development Bank Corporation also pledged a $1
billion credit for Venezuela’s state-owned mining company,
CVG, and Chinese state-owned and private companies agreed
to invest in Venezuelan railways, fish and shrimp
production.
Venezuelan Trade Minister Eduardo Saman said he expects an
increase in Venezuela’s imports of Chinese cars, electric
appliances, pharmaceuticals, and other goods over the
coming years, and that this will help to combat domestic
price speculation.
In recent years, China and Venezuela have created mixed
enterprises, in which Venezuela maintains a 60% controlling
share, to explore for, extract, refine, and transport oil
from Venezuela’s Orinoco Oil Belt, as well as to explore
for natural gas off the Venezuelan coast.
Last year, China built and launched Venezuela’s first
telecommunications satellite, and Venezuelan students are
studying aerospace engineering in Chinese universities.
Since 2003, annual trade between the two countries has
increased from less than a half a million dollars to
approximately $5 billion in 2008. In addition to this,
China and Venezuela have signed $5 billion worth of planned
Orinoco oil accords, and created a $12 billion bilateral
investment fund for future projects.
President Chavez said the unprecedented growth in bilateral
relations between Venezuela and China has the goal of
creating a “balance in the world, a pluri-polar world,” in
which there is no single dominant super power such as the
United States. He said China “has demonstrated that it is
not necessary to attack those who are weakest in order to
be a great power.”
Since Chavez’s election in 1998, Venezuela has increased
its economic relations with countries in almost every
region of the world, including Africa, Southeast Asia, the
Middle East, and Eastern and Western Europe, and Latin
America.
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