Throwing out the red carpet for Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, Xi Jinping sent a clear message to the United States this week. The message is that as Washington bolsters its relations with Pacific nations, a la its strategic partnership with Vietnam, Beijing will bolster its U.S.-hostile relationships in the Western Hemisphere.
Maduro and Xi's meetings produced more than pictures of flag-waving children. In a joint statement, China and Venezuela observed that "taking into account the profound changes in the current international and regional situation, the two sides unanimously decided to upgrade China-Venezuela relations to an all-weather strategic partnership." Laden with Beijing's preferred wording (something Beijing often insists upon), the communique explained that these "good comrades-in-arms for strategic cooperation" would "strengthen strategic coordination on international affairs."
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Some other points of note:
There's an ideological impetus to this partnership. Supporting Xi's effort to establish a new international order beyond Washington's influence, Xi and Maduro explained that they "oppose all forms of hegemonism and power politics, all forms of unilateralism, and the formation of camps and exclusive small circles targeting specific countries." Beijing and Caracas will instead "consolidate a multi-center, multi-polar world and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind."
Top line: China might be suffering diplomatic setbacks with democracies, but its relations with and influence over other autocracies are only growing closer.