President Maduro's China Tour to Diversify Venezuelan Economy

At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is carrying out a visit to China from September 8 to 14. The main aspects of this tour are summarized below.

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Sept. 8: Maduro visits the technological megalopolis of Shenzhen. On Friday, the Venezuelan president arrived at the Bo'an International Airport in Shenzhen, a city known worldwide as "China's technological megalopolis." In the evening, he attended a nighttime drone show.

“Grateful for the cordial welcome at Shenzhen Talent Park. They gave us a light and drone show that demonstrates their great technological and innovative advances. I am sure that China-Venezuela relations will continue on the path of growth and prosperity,” Maduro said.

Shenzhen, a city with 17 million inhabitants, is one of the world's main technological and industrial hubs. It is home to multinational companies such as Huawei and Tencent.

On Saturday, Maduro met with Huang Kunming, the secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in Guangzhou province. During their meeting, the Bolivarian leader explained that Venezuela is interested in the construction of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) to diversify his country's economy, expand productive forces, and link production with high technology.

The Maduro administration also aspires to establish initiatives to deeply integrate Shenzhen with four SEZs that will be established in Venezuelan territory. This deep integration process is seen as an opportunity to “advance the construction of a new post-oil growth model.”

"Our visit to China ensures the evolution of a diversified development model of the Venezuelan economy. We work with our own efforts so that each of the economic engines impacts the productive capacity of Venezuela," Maduro said.

During a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art and Urbanism, the Bolivarian leader was able to appreciate the exhibition of the 40th Anniversary of the Guangdong reform and opening, a process of economic liberalization that began the exponential Chinese growth.

In this cultural site, Venezuela and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the cooperation, development and modernization of special economic zones, which are appreciated as opportunities to achieve "productive chaining, security , social justice and environmentally sustainable means between both countries."

The MoU was signed between the Venezuelan Superintendency of Special Economic Zones and the Research Center for Special Economic Zones of Shenzhen University.

Sept. 10: Maduro arrives at the Shanghai's headquarters of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB). On Sunday, the Venezuelan President met with NDB President Dilma Rousseff, whom he assured that Venezuela is “a partner, an ally, and a friend” of the economic cooperation bloc led by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

“The BRICS NDB is in very good hands,” the Bolivarian leader said, referring to the leadership of this international financial institution by Rousseff, a leftist economist and former president of Brazil.

“We are now in Shanghai making new agreements and associations for economic development,” Maduro added, stressing his admiration for “the new world geopolitics” that is reflected in the consolidation of the BRICS and its financial instrument.

The city of Shanghai, which is located on the estuary of the Yangtze River in eastern China and facing the Pacific Ocean, is one of the most economically open and prosperous Asian regions

Thanks to an advantageous geographical location, which is equidistant between Beijing and Hong Kong, Shanghai has become a key port with easy access to a vast hinterland. In 2021, international trade through this port exceeded US$1.55 trillion, the highest in the world.

The text reads, "We will obtain great results by working jointly and unitedly with China for the well-being of our people. We are going to achieve this with the participation of over 75 Venezuelan companies. We are moving forward with development and growth. Thank you Shanghai, we will return soon!"

Sept. 11: Maduro meets with Lin Wu, the secretary of the Communist Party Committee in Shandong. The Venezuelan president confirmed his interest in establishing direct cooperation mechanisms between Shandong companies and Venezuelan companies.

"The objective is to update all Venezuelan industrial and agro-industrial parks with Chinese technology... This visit is historic because it places our economic relations at the highest level," the Bolivarian leader said.

"We are traveling the same path towards a world of peace without hegemonism or colonialism, where culture and civilization are respected," he added and explained that his visit to Shandong is intended to give a new impetus to joint work.

"Shandong as a province has great economic, technological, and cultural power. We can integrate this in a complementary way with the project to expand the Venezuelan productive forces," Maduro highlighted and mentioned that the eastern Venezuelan area has immense potential to create investment, production, and trade links with Shandong.

“It has significant gas reserves and a thriving economy. It also has great beauties conducive to tourism. But above all, it has a gigantic potential for food production,” he said, and recalled the recent creation of a food-focused SEZ in Anzoategui and Monagas, which can convert Venezuela in a net food exporting country.