Las relaciones Venezuela-China (1943-1974):
Los orígenes [Venezuela–China Relations (1943–1974): The Origins]
委内瑞拉与中国的关系 (1943-1974):
起源
Volume I
Norbert Molina-Medina
Ph.D. Norbert Molina Medina's work, Las relaciones Venezuela-China (1943-1974): Los orígenes [Venezuela–China Relations (1943–1974): The Origins] 委内瑞拉与中国的关系 (1943-1974): 起源 represents the first of three volumes that will make a substantial contribution to the historiography of Sino-Venezuelan diplomatic relations. This is the most comprehensive study in this specific area of analysis, featuring a meticulous handling of historical sources, statistics, key actors, agreements, and conventions, among other dimensions addressed by the author, leaving no room for the traditional manipulations of successive Venezuelan governments.
The work is structured around four analytical axes: I. Insights into the origin and evolution of Venezuela–China relations; II. Li Dijun and the frustrated Venezuela–China Treaty of Amity; III. Venezuela and the admission of China to the United Nations; and IV. The beginning and discontinuity of commercial understanding. In addition, there is an Epilogue with dialectical and corrective dimensions regarding relations between China and Venezuela, referencing the events and the actual historical timeline elapsed since April 13, 1943, which is a historical milestone that marks the beginning and allows us to account for nearly eight decades of relations (1943–2023).
Finally, this work includes an Appendix that enriches the analysis presented to the reader. Four tables present, for the first time and in a systematic manner, the Venezuelan diplomats in China and the Chinese diplomats on Venezuelan soil, as well as the early commercial activity. This serves as a valuable pillar for understanding the results of the work carried out by these frontline actors, who navigated the setbacks, prejudices, constraints, and disinterest that arose along the way. This understanding is necessary to avoid historical distortions, which author Norbert Molina Medina has placed in their proper context, especially so that the foreign ministries of both countries may discover their shared trajectories, dialogues, and challenges, keeping in mind these originsrevealed here for the first time.
