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By CCTV correspondent Martin Markovits

Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Venezuela to strengthen economic development and the rapidly growing relationship between the two countries.

This is the third stop for China’s President Xi Jinping-- after attending the BRICs conference in Brazil and visiting Argentina. The visit to Venezuela is aimed at cementing economic cooperation between the countries with the energy sector¹ as a key focus. China is currently Venezuela’s most important economic trade partner after the U.S.

“It’s difficult to imagine a world economy today without the presence of China. For us, from an economic standpoint, having the presence of the Chinese president is of great importance,”said Alberto Aranguibel, United Socialist² Party of Venezuela.

Venezuela currently exports more than 600,000 barrels of oil daily to China. In 2013, China’s crude oil imports from Venezuela rose by 8.9 percent. An expansion in trade would help China meet a growing demand for oil, and at the same time help boost Venezuela’s vulnerable economy.

Despite having one of the world’s richest oil reserves, the country is experiencing high inflation, a scarcity³ of basic products at supermarkets, and record high crime rates.

“There is a project in the country’s oil-rich Orinoco strip designed to significantly increase oil barrel exports to China. There is already talk of an increase of 360,000 of barrels daily in the short-term, and eventually to one million barrels,”said Alberto Aranguibel.

Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela Zhao Rongxian says more agreements that will increase loans and investment to develop Venezuela’s infrastructure⁴, transportation and health sectors⁵ are expected to be signed during the presidential visit.

“We want to continue developing our close ties and foster cooperation between both of our countries. Looking forward, we want to continue cooperating with the government and the people of Venezuela in order to accomplish joint⁶ development in all sectors and to keep relationships between both nations moving forward," said Zhao Rongxian, Chinese ambassador to Venezuela.