International Sharp Review | What New Motivation Has the "Iron Rod" Friendship between China and Venezuela Gained?
On the 14th, as Venezuelan President Maduro concluded his visit to China, Latin American media listed these key words: "historic visit," "upgrading China Venezuela relations to an all-weather strategic partnership," and "dozens of cooperation agreements.".
This is Maduro's third state visit to China and his fifth visit as president.From improving and upgrading bilateral relations, to issuing joint statements after the meeting, and then signing multiple cooperation documents, Maduro's trip was praised as "productive" by Latin News Agency.
When it comes to the interaction between China and Venezuela, it can be traced back to the 1840s when Chinese people crossed the ocean and arrived in Venezuela. On June 28, 1974, China and Venezuela officially established diplomatic relations. Over the past half century, the two countries have experienced international changes and formed a strong friendship.
At present, China is comprehensively promoting Chinese path to modernization. Venezuela is working hard to get rid of the negative impact of unilateral sanctions by the United States and the COVID-19 epidemic and carry out economic construction. Faced with new development tasks, how can these "good friends who trust each other and good partners for common development" bring more benefits to the people of both countries and inject more impetus into China Latin America cooperation?
Analysts point out that the upgrading of China Venezuela relations to an all-weather strategic partnership reflects a high level of political mutual trust. China has always firmly supported Venezuela's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, national dignity, and social stability, and its just cause of opposing external interference. When the Venezuelan side encountered difficulties, the Chinese side provided tangible assistance. For example, during the COVID-19, Venezuela was unable to obtain the required vaccine from the international market due to sanctions and blockades by the United States and the West. China's vaccines, medical supplies, and medical teams have played a crucial role in Venezuela's fight against the epidemic. President Maduro said that the Venezuelan people sincerely thanked the Chinese government and people for their valuable support and help when Venezuela was suffering from multiple difficulties such as illegal unilateral sanctions and the COVID-19 epidemic.
This statement aligns with Venezuela's actual needs to achieve economic transformation and break free from the "resource curse theory".
Judging from Maduro's trip, he visited 4 places in 7 days, focusing on the achievements and experience of Chinese path to modernization. Last June, Venezuela promulgated the Organic Law of Special Economic Zones and began establishing economic zones. Maduro's first stop in China is the "window" of China's reform and opening up - Shenzhen. He announced that he will send multiple delegations to visit China in the coming weeks to learn from China's advanced experience in building economic zones; In Shanghai, he stated that he will send a national delegation of entrepreneurs and producers to the November CIIE to attract new investment and achieve economic diversification; In Shandong, Maduro expressed his intention to use this area as a model for the development of the Ansoatji and Monagas oil states in eastern Venezuela. He said, "What I have seen and heard during my visit to China fully demonstrates China's progress and strength.".
Data shows that in the first half of 2023, the bilateral trade in goods between China and Venezuela reached 1.918 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 16.0%. During the meeting between the two heads of state, China expressed its willingness to expand the import of high-quality and distinctive Venezuelan products. According to the latest agreement, Venezuelan coffee and avocados will also be on the dining table of Chinese consumers. In addition, in July this year, Venezuela became the first country in the Americas to join the cooperation initiated by China for the International Lunar Research Station, which confirms that China and Venezuela are "good partners for common development".
Both China and Venezuela are developing countries and can strengthen cooperation in multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations and the Group of 77 and China to safeguard the common interests of developing countries. In August this year, Maduro stated that Venezuela had officially applied to join the BRICS Cooperation Mechanism. In the joint statement issued by China Venezuela, "China welcomes Venezuela's positive willingness to join the BRICS countries and supports Venezuela's efforts to achieve this goal.". This reflects China's desire and efforts to support the development and strengthening of multilateralism in southern countries around the world.
From a regional perspective, the improvement and upgrading of China Venezuela relations are closely related to the high-quality development of China Latin America relations. From the visit of Brazilian President Lula to China in April this year, to the visit of Honduras President Castro to China in June, and to the accelerated signing of free trade agreements between China and multiple Latin American countries, the China Latin American community with a shared future is deepening and solidifying.
Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China Latin America Forum and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Venezuela. When boarding the high-speed railway from Shandong to Beijing, Maduro said, "We take the train to the capital of China, Beijing, to welcome the future." In the future, China and Venezuela, as a pair of "iron poles," will achieve higher levels and wider areas of cooperation and development, create more welfare for the two peoples, and bring more good news to China Latin America cooperation.
