BEIJING - China and Venezuela seemed like natural bedfellows: one is the planet's top crude-oil importer and the other possesses the world's largest reserves. "Other countries in the region commonly reference Venezuela as a cautionary tale when determining how best to engage with China." China has signalled its readiness to work with whomever leads Venezuela, and opposition leader Guaido can ill-afford to alienate deep-pocketed China. The political crisis "could imperil China's oil deliveries from Venezuela, disrupt Chinese state-owned enterprises operating in Venezuela, and ultimately bring to power new Venezuelan authorities who might repudiate China's multi-billion-dollar loans," said Gedan. "And here it watched as its developing-country partner, with which it had built up a special relationship, faced political, economic, and humanitarian crisis -- and China's done nothing."

Source: Bangkok Post February 14, 2019 04:41 UTC