After Pakistan, China Has A New 'All Weather' Friend Which Surprisingly Is Oil-Rich

China announced on Wednesday it was upgrading its diplomatic ties with Venezuela to an “all-weather” partnership, a distinction given to only a few of its diplomatic partners.

This comes after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is on his fifth state visit to Beijing, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During their meeting, the two leaders signed several bilateral documents for Belt and Road projects and cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, and education.

Xi expressed China's willingness to increase imports of Venezuelan products.

Venezuela has also become the first Latin American country to participate in China's International Lunar Research station, a long-term project focused on studying the moon.

China has established strong 'all-weather' strategic partnerships with various countries, and one notable example is its relationship with Pakistan.

Over the past decade, China has invested a significant amount of $25.4 billion in Pakistan.

However, it should be noted that China elevating the status of its partnership with oil-rich Venezuela comes at a time as the crude prices across the globe has remained on the higher side amid the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war.

Venezuela heavily relies on oil exports but has faced challenges due to US sanctions. However, last year, the Biden administration eased some of these sanctions.

The Latin American country, which was once the richest in the South America, has been mired in complex political and humanitarian crisis over the past decade, resulting in about 7 million people leaving the country.