Matt Ferchen
{
"authors": [
"Matt Ferchen"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie China"
],
"collections": [
"China and the Developing World"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie China",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [
"Carnegie Oil Initiative"
],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States",
"South America",
"East Asia",
"China"
],
"topics": [
"Economy",
"Climate Change",
"Foreign Policy"
]
}Source: Getty
It’s Complicated: The U.S., China, and Venezuela’s Oil Relationship
The United States and China can work together to help Venezuela navigate the challenges facing its crude oil exports sector.
Source: Platts
Venezuela was once the largest source of U.S. oil imports, but when that relationship soured, the Latin American powerhouse turned to a new relationship with China. But as Platts senior editors Brian Scheid and Herman Wang explain, that partnership is not quite what was expected.
Matt Ferchen, resident scholar at the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, joined to lay out the state of affairs between the three countries and the relationships which hinge on crude trade.
Could the United States and China work together to help Venezuela develop its struggling resource base? Is Venezuela looking to reunite with the United States to bolster its struggling crude export sector? And how has crude oil been used as a political tool in this situation?
About the Author
Former Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy
Ferchen specializes in China’s political-economic relations with emerging economies. At the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, he ran a program on China’s economic and political relations with the developing world, including Latin America.
- How China Is Reshaping International DevelopmentQ&A
- Why Unsustainable Chinese Infrastructure Deals Are a Two-Way StreetArticle
Matt Ferchen, Anarkalee Perera
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie China
- Malaysia’s Year as ASEAN Chair: Managing DisorderCommentary
Malaysia’s chairmanship sought to fend off short-term challenges while laying the groundwork for minimizing ASEAN’s longer-term exposure to external stresses.
Elina Noor
- When It Comes to Superpower Geopolitics, Malaysia Is Staunchly NonpartisanCommentary
For Malaysia, the conjunction that works is “and” not “or” when it comes to the United States and China.
Elina Noor
- ASEAN-China Digital Cooperation: Deeper but Clear-Eyed EngagementCommentary
ASEAN needs to determine how to balance perpetuating the benefits of technology cooperation with China while mitigating the risks of getting caught in the crosshairs of U.S.-China gamesmanship.
Elina Noor
- Neither Comrade nor Ally: Decoding Vietnam’s First Army Drill with ChinaCommentary
In July 2025, Vietnam and China held their first joint army drill, a modest but symbolic move reflecting Hanoi’s strategic hedging amid U.S.–China rivalry.
Nguyễn Khắc Giang
- Today’s Rare Earths Conflict Echoes the 1973 Oil Crisis — But It’s Not the SameCommentary
Regulation, not embargo, allows Beijing to shape how other countries and firms adapt to its terms.
Alvin Camba