The visit of Nicolás Maduro to the Asian giant seeks an exit to the serious economic crisis that Venezuela is going through

With inflation of 100,000%, according to the latest index of the US financial company, Bloomberg, and the deep social crisis that Venezuela is going through, President Nicolás Maduro's last-minute visit to his great ally China can be interpreted as a necessity of aid that seeks to try to revive the Venezuelan economy.

Leer en español: Maduro en China: ¿Un SOS para la crisis económica de Venezuela?

Chinese President Xi Jinping; the prime minister, Li Keqiang; and the Minister of State and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, made the reception to the Venezuelan leader and expressed all their support, as recorded by several Chinese media since, the visit was not covered by the international media highlights, El País of Spain.

At the meeting, the Chinese president said he was in favor of promoting their trust and friendship between Beijing and Caracas. The prime minister expressed his support in collaborating with the development of the Venezuelan economy and told Maduro that he will be willing to provide whatever help is necessary.

The two leaders signed more than 20 bilateral agreements, some of them related to the exploitation of oil, gas, and energy. An agreement was also signed to make joint projects focused on the exploration of gold mines or the supply of pharmaceutical products from Chinese companies to Venezuela. "We will receive billions of dollars in investments to realize our joint ventures in the oil field," Maduro said in his speech.

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However, the Venezuelan president had to recognize the Chinese government that "there have been difficulties in the (bilateral) relationship" in the last three years. But he said that everything will be overcome and that " Thanks to the strong Venezuela-China relationship (…), today Venezuela is on its feet, struggling and in better circumstances than ever before." But, although Maduro has tried to keep it a secret, the actions to revitalize the economy of his country, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Simon Zerpa revealed that the Asian giant granted them a credit of 5 billion dollars, says Bloomberg News.

#EnVivo| Beijing | En Ceremonia de Bienvenida por parte de Xi Jinping, Presidente de la República Popular China. https://t.co/CiERVtXG47

— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) 14 de septiembre de 2018

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Venezuela, a country indebted to China

China and Venezuela began their agreements when Hugo Chávez ascended in power, achieving the realization of 780 projects to which they invested 50,000 million dollars, reports El País. In the last 10 years, China has become the number one lender for Venezuela. Data from the Inter-American Dialogue Studies Center assure that "China has granted credits to Venezuela worth 62,200 million dollars over the last decade". Venezuela still owes 20,000 million, which were being paid with oil supplies.

As a result of the fall in oil prices, which produced a great economic crisis four years ago, and which still exists today, it was impossible for Venezuela to pay such debt to the Chinese Government. As a result of this, from Beijing, they became a little more flexible, although denying Maduro any kind of loan. China, in the last three years, gave the viability to Caracas to pay only the interest of the total loans that have been executed.

China along with Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Russia, and Turkey, are the countries that still maintain relations with the government of Nicolás Maduro in the panorama of international isolation that Venezuela is experiencing.

LatinAmerican Post I Edwin Guerrero Nova

Translated from: 'Maduro en China: ¿un SOS para la crisis económica de Venezuela?'