A good summation cividale...

The Chinese are in Venezuela for only one reason. They can get hold of a rich supply of resources for a song and without competition. No other country wants to go within a barge pole of the place and you may notice that even the Russians are conspicuous by their silence nowadays.

Hugo's "friends", Iran, Cuba etc. are all broke, so while a great deal of backslapping and signing of impressive agreements for huge sums proceeds with lavish detail and publicity, they go no further. Hugo has upset almost all of his near neighbours except for the few who copied his methods only to find they don't work. The rest of the world don't trust him or his word and the country would be in total economic ruin if it wasn't for oil income.

The Chinese are on a long term mission to grab natural resources anywhere they can find them. They have been rebuffed in most western countries but have had success in parts of Africa. Venezuela is low hanging fruit for them and if they play their cards right they can get control of lots of resources very cheaply. Hugo has no friends with money and Chinese politics seem to mesh at least partially with those of Venezuela, but that is really only an aside to the Chinese. Their charity depends on getting value for the dollars they are investing, and Hugo will have to deliver even if it takes years.

They are happy to lend Hugo cash, but are careful to make sure their handouts can be redeemed in a commodity that Hugo has, and China wants, oil..... Anything else they can get like gold is a bonus but not a game changer. They are in no hurry. A deal with KRY may be a convenient way to tie up Las Cristinas, but if Hugo threw out KRY then the Chinese would simply pressure Hugo for 100% of LC at a later date. Hugo has no other friends who will bail him out when the Chinese start tightening the screws.

In the end the Chinese will have all the major assets in Venezuela under their control and they won't be interested in sharing them with anyone else. Why should they? They already know how to run government owned enterprises, and while Hugo can appropriate private enterprises successfully, he cannot run them. The Chinese can, but they won't do it for nothing....