Venezuela looks to China for help but gets few promises | Financial Times:
China agreed to several small oil deals with Venezuela this week but gave no public confirmation that it would extend more loans to the cash-strapped country during a rare visit by President Nicolás Maduro to Beijing.
Venezuela faces a stiff payments schedule over the next two months of about $2bn to bondholders, some of whom have debt secured against US-based refiner Citgo, and in compensation to western oil companies for past nationalisations in Venezuela.
Simon Zerpa, Venezuelan finance minister, said earlier this week that Beijing would extend a $5bn loan to Caracas. But Premier Li Keqiang, while saying that China would help Venezuela, made no mention of that money and urged Caracas to provide more “policy support and legal guarantees”, according to official statements released on Friday.
