The New China-Venezuela Partnership Is Challenging U.S. Hegemony

By Uriel Araujo

Venezuela and China are expanding cooperation across energy, tech, infrastructure, and defence. With over 600 joint projects and growing maritime and military links, the partnership challenges longstanding US influence, in the age of BRICS. Washington’s sanctions contrast with Beijing’s pragmatic, infrastructure-driven approach. The region emerges as a new arena in the global contest for influence.

A deepening strategic partnership between China and Venezuela — marked by over 600 cooperation projects across energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and technology — signals a broader realignment in Latin America’s geopolitical landscape.

Moving away from the era of large-scale loans, Beijing now favours targeted investments that strengthen its foothold without incurring the risks of financial overexposure. This shift positions Venezuela, under President Nicolas Maduro, as a key ally in China’s regional strategy, challenging longstanding US influence in the Caribbean.

Venezuela is no stranger to friendly ties with China, but things are now reaching new levels. Other deals include joint ventures to expand agricultural production, and China is also providing telecommunications technology and infrastructure upgrades, particularly in transport and energy. Additionally, the cooperation has extended into space, and into artificial intelligence technology, plus the naval and security realms, with reports of Chinese involvement in maritime surveillance systems, port infrastructure, and military training programs.

Venezuela’s location — bridging the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic trade routes — makes it a natural node in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Beijing’s support for the country’s power grid and Special Economic Zones aligns with its recently announced $9.2 billion credit line to Latin America and the Caribbean, revealed during the May 2025 China-CELAC Forum.

This growing alignment comes as the US, under President Trump’s boosted neo–Monroeism, seeks to reassert its dominance in the hemisphere. Washington views Beijing’s expanding influence with concern, particularly in Venezuela, where China has become the largest buyer of oil. American tariff threats, including a proposed 25% penalty on countries importing Venezuelan crude, temporarily disrupted exports. Yet, by June, shipments had rebounded to 844,000 barrels per day, which demonstrates Caracas’s resilience and China’s continued demand. As it turns out, rather than isolating the Maduro government, US pressure may be consolidating the “China-Venezuela axis”.

It is fair to say that Beijing offers economic and technological assistance without ideological strings or new debt burdens. This contrasts with Washington’s sanction-driven approach and reinforces China’s image as a pragmatic partner.

The larger context is that this contest is not limited to Caracas. In Brazil, for one thing, tensions have escalated as the Lula administration strengthens ties with China and Russia through BRICS. Trump’s tactics — including sanctions and judicial pressure — have drawn criticism from observers who see them as a modern iteration of Cold War-era interventionism. In neighbouring Colombia, President Petro has publicly accused Washington of plotting a coup amid his country’s growing alignment with China and the BRICS-led New Development Bank.

Although Brazil has vetoed Venezuela’s bid to join BRICS, the interest itself reflects the bloc’s rising influence in Latin America and globally. The July 2025 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro—attended by leaders from Brazil, India, and new partners like Vietnam —issued a joint condemnation of US punitive protectionism and advocated for a multipolar world order.

Following its 2024-2025 expansion to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Indonesia, the BRICS bloc now represents more than half of the global population. At the Rio summit, BRICS leaders called for increased use of local currencies in trade, aiming to reduce dependency on the American dollar and resist what they view as unilateral economic coercion.

In response, President Trump threatened an additional 10% tariff on BRICS countries, citing their “anti-American” orientation These threats reflect a growing American anxiety over de-dollarization efforts and China’s industrial edge — most notably its shipbuilding capacity, which surpasses that of the US by a factor of no less than 200. It seems Washington looks at the Global South’s multi-aligned and non-aligned stances and can only see “anti-Americanism”.

It turns out the Caribbean is emerging as a critical arena in this broader struggle. Venezuela’s ongoing territorial dispute with Guyana over the Essequibo region has intensified, with Washington backing Georgetown through legislation like Senator Bennet’s security bill, while China lends diplomatic and economic support to Caracas.

Other regional players are also navigating this polarized environment, while trying to avoid polarization itself. The Dominican Republic, for instance, seeks nearshoring opportunities with the US while still maintaining careful engagement with China. Meanwhile, Suriname — thanks to the oil reserves discovered in 2020 and shifting political alignments — is becoming a quiet but strategic player, with both Beijing and Washington courting its support.

The US strategy in its continent has also been hampered by inconsistencies, including rifts over Chevron’s license to operate in Venezuela and failed prisoner exchange negotiations. Such missteps, combined with sanctions that alienate rather than attract regional actors, may end up further undermining American leadership.

China’s approach, in contrast, pragmatic and infrastructure-focused as it is, solidifies its long-term presence in the region. It has proven effective in winning influence where Washington’s punitive model falters.

The point is that, ultimately, the evolving China-Venezuela relationship is more than a bilateral affair (much less an “ideological” one”!). It actually reflects a global realignment in which regional powers explore alternatives to Washington-led institutions. The Caribbean and the wider Latin American region, once firmly within Washington’s orbit, are increasingly becoming a contested space.

Its future shaped not only by oil and trade, but by the competing visions of global order offered by Washington, on one hand, and, on the other hand, by different frameworks. As this new Cold War unfolds, the consolidation of Venezuela’s strategic ties with China stands as a sign of a changing world.

Uriel Araujo, Anthropology PhD, is a social scientist specializing in ethnic and religious conflicts, with extensive research on geopolitical dynamics and cultural interactions.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Voice of East.

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Categories: Analysis, Geopolitics, International Affairs

Tags: BRI, BRICS, China, Geopolitics, USA, Venezuela