China, Venezuela sign agreements on economy, trade, tourism

BEIJING, China - China and Venezuela signed several bilateral cooperation documents focused on various areas including economy, trade and tourism, China's state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said on Wednesday.

In promoting stronger ties between the two countries, China's President Xi Jinping signed the deals with Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro after a meeting in Beijing.

Xi pointed out that the two countries are partners with shared development, state media reported, highlighting that both are "good friends with mutual trust."

Xi also noted that next year will be the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Venezuela.

The two countries also signed deals on the economy and trade, science and technology, civil aviation, and aerospace.

Venezuela said it actively supports China's Belt and Road Initiative to boost global trade infrastructure, Chinese state media said, referring to the upcoming conference in China next month. China has said it has signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements with more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations.

Maduro said Venezuela is also willing to closely communicate and cooperate with China within multilateral frameworks such as the BRICS mechanism and the United Nations.

Venezuela is actively courting membership of BRICS, a group of major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which recently favoured expansion and welcomed new members. — Reuters