China will loan Venezuela $5bn to boost oil output, the Venezuelan president said in a televised broadcast from Beijing, in a show of continued support for the troubled Latin American economy from one of its main creditors.
China has lent $50bn to Venezuela in oil-backed loans secured under former president Hugo Chávez but has become much less enthusiastic about adding to its exposure as the Venezuelan economy has worsened. Venezuela is the eighth-largest oil supplier to China, primarily of heavy crude that trades at lower than benchmark prices.
Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelan president, said in a broadcast aired in his home country on Tuesday evening that the deal would “increase oil production in a gradual way in coming months”. Mr Maduro is visiting China ahead of a military parade on Thursday to celebrate the end of the second world war in Asia.