China and Venezuela

Bloomberg.com reports that China and Venezuela (see story here) have agreed to a more than $10 billion deal to produce oil in the Faja del Orinoco region. This is definitely a step that will increase Venezuela's status in the world as a player to be taken seriously and is sure to get under the skin of the Bush administration that has been vigorously attempting to isolate the country after a failed coup against leader Hugo Chavez in 2002. Venezuela on the other hand is attempting to reduce its reliance on the US market that currently accounts for over %50 of its oil exports. It appears that China, with this move, is flagrantly disregarding US interests in a region that has historically been considered by US policy planners as a "backyard". Obviously the CCP knew this to be the situation leaving open to speculation whether the move was a calculated slight towards the US or a necessary one in light of China's present energy needs.