Venezuela to buy Chinese combat planes: Chavez

[gpit]

Venezuela to buy Chinese combat planes: Chavez

Sep 21 07:09 PM US/Eastern

Venezuela will buy combat and training aircraft from China this week, leftist Venezuela President Hugo Chavez confirmed in a television broadcast Sunday.
The purchases will be made as part of a six-country tour, Chavez said in his broadcast of the "Alo President" television program from the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, hours before leaving on a "strategic interest" trip to Cuba, China, Russia, Belarus, France and Portugal.

Chavez, a staunch foe of the US government, confirmed that during his stay in Beijing he will purchase 24 K-8 aircraft "to train fighter pilots." The planes could be part of Venezuela's air force by next year.

The president also confirmed that while in Beijing he will arrange the construction of tanker vessels in Chinese shipyards, with the aim of installing a shipyard in Venezuela in the near future.

These plans come in addition to the construction of a refinery in China to process oil from Venezuela, and plans to create a bi-national company to install a refinery in the remote oil-rich Orinoco region in eastern Venezuela.

Caracas provides 500,000 barrels of oil per day to Beijing, a trade which is expected to increase to one million barrels a day by 2012.

Chavez, who describes China as a strategic ally, will move forward with a six billion dollar bilateral investment fund. China will contribute four billion dollars to the fund, and Venezuela two billion dollars.

Caracas will use the fund for "socialist productive projects."

"Before we had to go to Washington to beg for money. Not now. Now we negotiate with the Chinese," said Chavez.

Chavez announced that during his visit to Beijing the investment fund will benefit from an additional four billion dollars for further "development" in Venezuela.

After China, Chavez will head to Moscow.

Venezuela in recent years has been broadening its military ties to Moscow, and Chavez backed Russia in the recent Georgian conflict.

Last week, Russian supersonic Tu-160 bombers for the first time flew training runs with Venezuela in an area of the Caribbean traditionally considered the US military's sphere of influence.

Chavez's trip is expected to last until September 27.


Copyright AFP 2008, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium

 

[Neo]

Great news, this will boost our exports aswell since we have 50% stake in K-8.

 

[gpit]

Hongdu JL-8 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Referring to above link, looks like K-8 is a successful product with many users worldwide.

Wondering what is the price tag?

 

[gpit]

Outside View: Hugo Chavez skips U.N. for oil diplomacy tour

By ANDREI FEDYASHIN, UPI Outside View Commentator
Published: Sept. 24, 2008 at 4:39 PM

MOSCOW, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- When asked why he did not go to the current U.N. General Assembly session this week in New York, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told journalists at Beijing airport Tuesday it was far more important to be in the Chinese capital.

"The United States is on the decline, while China and Russia continue to develop," said the Venezuelan leader, who will pay a brief visit to Moscow Sept. 26 after a three-day stay in China.

While a Russian naval squadron is still sailing to Venezuela for joint naval exercises, Chavez has embarked on a major seven-day Eurasian tour. Chavez, who visited Cuba on Sept. 21, also will stop in Belarus, France and Portugal through Sept. 27.

Chavez's Beijing visit will have some far-reaching consequences. The Venezuelan leader discussed oil exports to China with President Hu Jintao, hoping this will cement mutual friendship.

No matter what people think of Chavez, and no matter how they mock him, the president of Venezuela is redrawing the geopolitical map and changing his country's orientation rather skillfully.

This is particularly true of his economic policies. China, a key to Chavez's Asian gambit, will help Caracas overcome its dependence on the U.S. oil market, and also will make it possible to export Venezuelan oil to rapidly developing Asian markets.

Analysts have repeatedly told Chavez that his threats to stop exporting Venezuelan oil to the United States, if Washington starts playing tough against Caracas' friends and neighbors, were pointless and even reckless in present-day conditions.

Although Venezuela dislikes Washington, it sells 60 percent of its oil to the United States. Chavez's possible decision to stop exporting oil to the U.S. market would cripple the entire Venezuelan economy.

Consequently, Chavez has decided to visit China, an emerging industrial powerhouse.

This April, China received 250,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil per day. By 2010 Venezuela will supply 500,000 barrels of oil to China per day, with daily oil exports to Beijing reaching 1 million barrels by 2012.

The state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA and Beijing have agreed to build three refineries in China. Moreover, Chinese and Venezuelan companies will set up their joint refinery in Venezuela's famous Oil Belt in the Orinoco River basin. That refinery will export oil to China and other countries.

China has pledged to build three large-tonnage tankers for Venezuela. Beijing and Caracas also will contribute $4 billion and $2 billion, respectively, to a huge socioeconomic development fund.

On Nov. 1 China will orbit the first Venezuelan telecommunications satellite. Caracas will spend Chinese petrodollars on 24 Chinese-Pakistani K-8 Karakorum light attack fighters.

Although the K-8s are no match for the U.S. Air Force, Chavez can use them to intimidate neighbors and wipe out guerrilla bases in mountain areas.

"In the past, we had to go and beg for money in Washington. Now we are negotiating with China, which is telling the whole world that a great power does not necessarily have to bully anyone. The Chinese are soldiers of peace. And Venezuela is no longer a U.S. back yard," Chavez said.

On Sept. 26 Chavez will discuss lucrative gas deals in the Russian capital. Two weeks ago Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin visited Venezuela, with Chavez agreeing to involve energy giant Gazprom in local gas projects.

Gazprom and Petroleos de Venezuela SA have signed a memorandum on developing the shelf deposit Blanquilla Este y Tortuga and an agreement on building a liquefied-gas plant.

Venezuela ranks second after the United States in the Western Hemisphere in terms of proven gas deposits, containing 4.1 trillion cubic meters. Gazprom is ready to invest $850 million in the next seven years and to annually receive $420 million worth of gas-sale proceeds.

Moreover, Gazprom will gain access to the extremely promising Latin American hydrocarbon market. It is high time Russia, which owes its status as an energy superpower to oil and gas, started diversifying its export routes.

Some political leaders, including Libya's Col. Moammar Gadhafi, are still in office after staging coups and committing other extravagant acts.

However, the unprecedented Venezuelan political and economic activity and even extravagance may do Chavez a disservice. The president of Venezuela faces political opposition and discontent among some segments of society. Moreover, the country is not accustomed to Libyan-style political homogeneity.

Only naive people believe the United States will allow Chavez to do what he wants in its back yard and to change the situation in nearby regions with the help of his new far-away friends, including Moscow, Beijing and Minsk, and that Washington will not order its secret services to do something about the Venezuelan leader.

But it would be pointless to exclude Latin America from the process of building a new multipolar world.

--

(Andrei Fedyashin is a political commentator for RIA Novosti. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.)

--

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)
Outside View: Hugo Chavez skips U.N. for oil diplomacy tour - UPI.com

 

[EagleEyes]

Hongdu JL-8 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Referring to above link, looks like K-8 is a successful product with many users worldwide.

Wondering what is the price tag?

Around 15 million.

 

[gpit]

Thanks Webby for the info!

 

[cqjjccwj]

Normal commercial trade, the West was afraid of, they do not understand why this state of mind?

 

[Super Falcon]

i hope venezuela also go for jf 17 too