US secretary tells senators Beijing received discounted crude via opaque debt deals, saying Maduro\u2019s removal was key to curbing influence.<\/b>
\nUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused China of profiting from Venezuela\u2019s long-running economic collapse by securing discounted oil, telling senators that removing Nicolas Maduro was necessary to end energy arrangements that he said \u201cfavoured Beijing at the expense of the Venezuelan people\u201d.
During a hearing of the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Rubio portrayed China as a central beneficiary of the Maduro government, arguing that Beijing had taken advantage of sanctions and economic isolation to secure access to heavily discounted crude while expanding its influence in the western hemisphere.
\u201cChina was receiving oil at about a US$20 a barrel discount, and they weren\u2019t even paying money for it,\u201d Rubio said.
\u201cIt was being used to pay down debt that they were owed. This is the oil of the people of Venezuela, and it was being given to the Chinese as barter at a US$20 discount per barrel in some cases.\u201d
Oil that should have supported domestic recovery, he argued, was instead diverted to service debts to China through opaque arrangements.
Chinese refiners were able to obtain supplies at prices unavailable elsewhere, Rubio told senators, while Venezuela\u2019s economy continued to deteriorate.<\/p>\n