The China-Venezuela Relationship is Weaker than Many Think

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (2-R) shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping (2-L) during a signing-of-agreements ceremony, in Caracas on July 21, 2014. AFP PHOTO/LEO RAMIREZ

While both the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Chinese firms have protested U.S. pressure on Venezuela to cut ties with China, Beijing’s relationship with Caracas has been in decline for years. Bloomberg shows that Chinese trade with the beleaguered country peaked in 2012, the year before President Nicolás Maduro came to power.

While Maduro talked of his country’s “perfect union” to a Chinese delegation hours before the U.S. invasion, the real economic relationship has been cooling for a while.

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by CGSP Staff

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