Venezuela has the most oil in the world, but it once lived like an "energy refugee." The wealth under the ground can often be tens of billions of barrels, but the country cannot even maintain the most basic living security.
In recent years, the United States has almost reached its limit in its suppression of Venezuela. Economic sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and political pressure have not been lowered. The purpose is very clear, that is, to bring down the existing government.
But the reality has not followed the American scenario, and in 2025, the situation seems to have emerged in a new direction, and the emergence of China is quietly changing the course of this sawing war.
Under a string of pressures, Venezuela is almost empty.
Since 2017, U.S. economic sanctions on Venezuela have been steadily tightened, first by freezing overseas assets of state-owned oil companies, then by restricting transactions with financial institutions, almost pushing Venezuela out of the international financial markets.
By 2019, oil exports were directly hit, the most critical customers were cut off, oil could not be sold out, money could not come in, and foreign exchange revenues across the country fell.
Politically, the U.S. has openly supported the opposition and recognized the self-proclaimed president Guaidó as a "legitimate representative", which has caused much controversy in the international community.
By 2020, the domestic situation in Venezuela is already very tense, with a shortage of daily necessities, frequent power interruptions, and even basic medical care cannot be guaranteed. At that time, the rate of inflation made paper money almost equal to waste paper, and ordinary people couldn't even afford a pound of chicken with a whole bag of money.
In recent years, there have been more and more controversies in the international community about this sanctions model of the United States. Especially after 2023, with the changes in the world structure, more and more countries have begun to reflect on what problems has the unilateral economic blockade solved?
Venezuela has not become more "*" because of this, but the lives of ordinary people have fallen into deeper difficulties. The purpose of the United States seems to have not been achieved, but the damage caused is irreparable.
China did not say much and directly helped do practical things
Venezuela in its most difficult times, almost all traditional allies have chosen to watch.China does not appear in the wind, but silently does a lot of things others are unwilling to do.
Starting from 2021, cooperation between China and Venezuela began to gradually resume. It's not simply giving money, but rebuilding the foundation step by step from oil fields to ports, from oil production equipment to logistics networks.
In 2023, Chinese companies helped Venezuela to upgrade technology on several old oil fields.In the past, many wells were not working because of equipment ageing, and now production can be resumed.
In terms of ports, due to the lack of maintenance, the transportation capacity was seriously insufficient. After Chinese enterprises took over the transformation, the export channels were gradually dredged.
In addition to energy, the agricultural sector has also begun to make breakthroughs.In 2024, Venezuela and China signed a series of agricultural export agreements, a rare new move over the years.
Specialty crops such as avocado and coffee have begun to be exported to Asian markets, which not only increases income, but also drives local employment.
These cooperations do not have complicated political conditions and do not interfere in internal affairs. more like the equal cooperation between two countries, who needs what to do together.
Venezuela lacks technology, but China has it; lacks a market, and China can provide it; lacks funds, and China is willing to support it under reasonable conditions. This approach is a sustainable reconstruction path for Venezuela.
Relationship not by screaming slogans, a little accumulated.
The relationship between China and Venezuela did not suddenly appear in recent years. As early as the last century, the two countries began to have basic official exchanges. However, in the past few years, due to changes in the situation, this kind of cooperation has slowed down. However, as the situation gradually became clear, many cooperation projects were restarted.
In 2023, Venezuela announced that it would use more yuan in its own country to settle trade.This is not a temporary political statement, but a practical practice.
For Venezuela, the pain of being limited to the settlement of the dollar has been too long, and now there are finally new alternatives.The use of the yuan gives them more room to spin in international trade, without looking at the American face anymore.
In 2024, Venezuela invited Chinese companies to participate in the construction of local 5G infrastructure. Educational exchanges are also being restored, with more and more local students traveling to China to learn technology and management experience.
Such a relationship is not forged by wooing, but is slowly established through time and practical results.
On the international stage, Venezuela has also begun to support China’s position more and more.The frequency of interaction between the two sides has increased significantly, both at the United Nations and other multilateral mechanisms.Not to "take sides", but because each other's core interests do overlap. This kind of mutual understanding is rare in many traditional major-country relations.
No one can say it right now, but the direction is clear.
In 2025, Venezuela's overall economy is far from fully recovering, but it has seen improvement. Oilfields are reopening, agricultural exports are increasing, and some infrastructure is being repaired. At least it is no longer the "collapsed country" that everyone avoids.
Of course, this is not an easy path.Many problems have been accumulated over the years and cannot be solved overnight.But unlike before, Venezuela now has more cards available.
China's cooperation is not a hammer, but a long-term plan around energy, trade, technology, finance, etc. As long as the direction is unchanged, even a little slow, the country can slowly go out.
U.S. sanctions have not been completely lifted, and political pressure still exists. It's just that Venezuela is no longer passively as it used to be.
The international community has also gradually adjusted its attitude toward Venezuela, with some countries starting to rethink whether to resume cooperation. Especially in the context of changing global energy patterns, countries with rich resources such as Venezuela are re-evaluated sooner or later.
For ordinary people, the most important thing is not who and whom to deal with, but whether electricity is not stable, medicines can not be bought, children can go to school.
Now, some places have begun to restore power supply, hospitals have new equipment, supermarkets have begun to have fresh food. These changes, not by slogans, nor by confrontation, rely on real and genuine cooperation.
The Venezuelan sky is not fully clear yet, but it is no longer the state of the clouds. China's intervention has no fierce propaganda, no high-profile political gestures, more is a little to do things out, so that this country with huge resources but in trouble to find a way out.
The global pattern is quietly changing, and the past era when unilateral sanctions could completely change a regime seems to be passing. Today's Venezuela is not a vassal of anyone, but is exploring its own way of life.
Whether there is a way out depends on who is willing to reach out at the most difficult time, not who shouts the loudest. Oil is still underground, but the future of this country is already in motion.
Source of information:
The minutes of the press conference of the Ministry of Commerce of China (2023-2024) mentioned the results of China-Venezuela cooperation on energy projects and infrastructure;
Xinhua News Agency (October 2023) that the two sides have signed several cooperation agreements including energy, agriculture and the digital economy.
China Petroleum and Gas Corporation (CNPC) official website, on the foreign announcement of the project of technological transformation of Venezuelan oil fields;
China Railway Construction (CRCC) 2024 press release on the progress of port and transportation infrastructure projects.