Weekly Report - 22 April 2010 (WR-10-16)

VENEZUELA | China. China extended a US$20bn credit line to Venezuela last week to go towards infrastructure, agriculture, energy, petroleum, steel, and gas projects. Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez announced the offer after signing seven accords in Caracas (including the establishment of a joint company to exploit the Orinoco Oil Belt) with Chinese government representatives as President Hu Jintao had to cancel his visit after an earthquake in China.
Colombia is also desperately courting China. Vice-President Francisco Santos claimed this week that Colombia would recover 40% of the market it had lost through the “freezing" of trade with Venezuela, by means of exports to China. He said trade with China had increased by 500% in the first two months of 2010, mainly through the sale of food and confectionary.

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