As the world's second-largest economy, and a global power capable of balancing the US' influence in Latin America, China is obviously of the highest importance for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Beijing also views its ties with the fourth-largest economy in Latin America strategically.

With the world's largest oil reserves 297 billion barrels by conservative estimates compared with an estimated 265 billion barrels for Saudi Arabia Venezuela, a historical pillar of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is a key part of the Chinese energy security equation.

In the first four months of 2013 Caracas exported 626,000 barrels per day to China. Although it exported 754,000 barrels to the US during the same period, it is expected that its exports to China will reach 1 million barrels in the coming two years. Last year, Beijing bought 5.1 million barrels a day from foreign markets.

Agriculture can also be an important part of the bilateral relations, the fertile land of Venezuela 30 million hectares not fully exploited can be better used in order to benefit the Venezuelan population and to answer China's considerable food security challenge.

While in the coming years, tourism can also enrich Sino-Venezuelan ties. Venezuela, known as the "Land of Grace", has a highly attractive biodiversity and Caracas can evolve into a transportation hub in the America's mirroring the role played by Miami in the north of the Caribbean Sea.

During Maduro's visit to Beijing an agreement will be signed on establishing a Confucius Institute in Caracas, a platform that will help deepen the cultural exchanges between the two countries.

The Sino-Venezuelan strategic partnership can't be separated from the broader Sino-Latin American relations. Maduro's government is already involved in the rotating presidency of MERCOSUR, the Southern Common Market among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and Venezuela, which attaches great importance to the cohesiveness of the Latin American continent, will use its position to deepen the dialogue between China and the MERCOSUR. In a sense, China could share the revealing MERCOSUR motto, "Nuestro Norte es el Sur", "Our North is the South".

While the newly formed Pacific Alliance Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru has been designed to better connect with a China-centered Asia Caracas will work to develop its bilateral relations with Beijing but also to have a more autonomous South-South intercontinental dialogue between China and Latin America.

With Venezuela acting as one of the internal catalysts for the solidarity among the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and China calling for more Latin American cohesiveness, the continent is gradually coming closer to the Venezuelan dream of social progress and unity.

David Gosset is director of the Academia Sinica Europaea at CEIBS, and founder of the Euro-China Forum, Temir Porras Poncelen is special advisor to the President of Venezuela and President of BANDES, the Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank.

(China Daily 09/23/2013 page8)