BEIJING — Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez arrived in China on a three-day state visit Tuesday, declaring himself a “Maoist” moments after touching down and touting what he said was China’s support for a strategy to end U.S. domination of world affairs.
In a sign of strengthening energy ties between the countries, Chavez said the two would jointly build oil tankers and that Venezuela would help China build a refinery to process Venezuelan heavy crude oil.
He hailed China’s plans to launch a telecommunications satellite for Venezuela on Nov. 1.
Chavez is expected to iron out a deal to purchase two squadrons of Chinese-built Karakorum-8 trainer jets and ground radar, a move that U.S. analysts said would open the door for greater Chinese military involvement in Venezuela.
China declined to confirm the sale and generally played down the Chavez visit, saying it wasn’t seeking to give the firebrand Venezuelan leader a platform to step up his confrontation with Washington.
President Hu Jintao will receive Chavez today.
