China’s Venezuela Exposure
The visit of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to China in September was, on the face of it, a cause for quite a bit of relief for Beijing. After all, strong Beijing ally Hugo Chavez had only passed away in March, and there was some concern about how stable Venezuela would be following the death of such a personality-oriented, individual leader. Whilst the visit was marked by the usual fanfare about deals, cooperation and even conspiracy theories (as usual centered on the U.S. ) the cheer actually masked what is rapidly becoming a dire economic situation in the Latin-American country as decades of populism come home to roost. Even the conspiracy theories represent political strains in Caracas. China should be wary. Chinese investment and support for Venezuela continued unabated both before and during Maduro’s visit in late September. Indeed, $28 billion of Chinese investment in Venezuelan oil production was announced before Maduro even set foot in...