The United States on Thursday threatened to pull out of the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in China next week if Beijing refuses to allow a representative of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to attend.

While the Venezuela-U.S. relationship has worsened, Venezuela-China ties have become closer. But Venezuela-China relations date back before Chávez and socialist ideology took hold in Venezuela, and today the U.S. is not happy to see that China is gaining a foothold in its backyard.

Though China forged a new economic relationship with Venezuela under Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, the PRC’s continued presence is almost guaranteed through the need for Venezuelan oil.

Russia, China, Egypt and Bolivia boycotted an informal public United Nations Security Council meeting on Venezuela on Monday organized by the United States, sa

The build-up of a large militia in Venezuela, facing no external military aggression, underscores a regime prepared to escalate violence against its own people. China, has provided generous credits, loans, and investments in an amount estimated at upwards of $60 billion, and will likely write off its loses, but more importantly may have to avoid being dragged down into a humanitarian crisis comparable to Syria or a political miasma as cancerous as North Korea, unless the leaders in Caracas change course.

How will Nicolás Maduro’s leadership impact China’s evolving relationship with Venezuela? Fernando Menéndez warns that the state of Venezuela’s economy and political stability is in jeopardy, putting China’s strong ties and investments in the country at risk.

China’s response to Chavez’s death signifies the explicit support and close attention that the country places on the stability of Venezuela, writes Wu Baiyi.