China keeps Chavez close, but not too close

Despite his gushing compliments this week, Beijing has been careful to keep Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at a distance as it tries not to jeopardise its relations with Washington, analysts say.

On Thursday evening at the end of a 48-hour visit to Beijing, Latin America’s leftwing leader-in-chief was at pains to underline the strong links between his oil-producing country and the world’s third largest economy.
As a growing superpower, China needs to secure more oil for its burgeoning economy from more diverse places, and Venezuela needs to ween itself off dependence on the US market.

It is here that the interests of the two countries intersect. Added to that, both share a desire to see a multi-, rather than uni-polar world order.

But, say experts, Beijing is wary of pushing this too far for fear that could endanger its relations with Washington.

AFP