In a recent televised address that coincided with President Xi Jinping's third visit to Latin America since 2013, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro thanked China for "not giving up on" his country during hard times.

His expression of gratitude came at a time when Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and China National Petroleum Corp reached a $2.2 billion agreement; the two companies are expected to jointly produce 277,000 more barrels of oil a day. Although not on Xi's latest diplomatic itinerary that took him to Ecuador, Peru and Chile, Venezuela is motivated to deepen bilateral ties with China to tide over the crisis it faces at home and abroad.

Recession has stifled the country's economic growth, which has shrunk by 8 percent this year and will probably decline by another 4.5 percent in 2017, according to the International Monetary Fund. Venezuela has a long way to go to overcome high inflation and rapid devaluation of its currency, clear its heavy debts, and ensure the smooth supply of necessities.