Venezuela Received $5 Billion In Credits From China, President Maduro Says

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro holds the documents granting him emergency decree powers as he gestures to supporters at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013. Venezuela's congress granted Maduro emergency decree powers that will allow him to approve laws without consulting congress for up to a year. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (AP2013)

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Saturday that the Chinese government has given his country $5 billion in credits under a deal reached in September.

“Everyone should know that the stretch of $5 billion from the Chinese Fund that we agreed upon to invest with (Chinese) President Xi Jinping, has already been deposited into the Chinese Fund,” Maduro said.

He said Saturday the money will be used for fields such as housing, transportation, satellite technology and the military.

“I say this for the embittered right, who have said that the relations (between the two countries) had been broken. We thank the Popular Republic of China,” added Maduro, the political heir of the late President Hugo Chavez, who in his 14 years in office developed close relations with Beijing to reduce the dependence that the United States has, the main destination of Venezuela’s crude oil.

Venezuela's leftist government has received roughly $36 billion from China since 2008, and is paying for it with petroleum exports.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.