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Over the weekend, Venezuela singed a two-billion-dollar deal with China which cements Beijing as Caracas’ second biggest economic trading partner and largest source of investment capital. The accord is part of an effort to help curb Venezuela’s huge housing shortage. CCTV America’s Martin Markovits reports from Caracas.



Follow Martin Markovits on Twitter @MartinMarkovits

Venezuela, China Sign $2 Billion Agreement for Housing Over the weekend, Venezuela singed a two-billion-dollar deal with China which cements Beijing as Caracas' second biggest economic trading partner and largest source of investment capital. The accord is part of an effort to help curb Venezuela's huge housing shortage. CCTV America's Martin Markovits reports from Caracas.

Kimberly Caminitis, a neighborhood resident of Caracas, faces this problem. She and her son are currently living as a squatters in the Tower of David, an abandoned office building in Caracas. “Here there’s no elevator, you have to go up using the stairs. Go up, and up, and up. I live on the 13th floor and I use the stairs. A lot of people live on the 28th floor, it’s very tall,” said Kimberly.

The Maduro government’s goal is to have three million new or refurbished homes available by 2019 for people like Kimberly.

Since 2008, Venezuelan social housing projects have been fueled by a 50-billion-dollar investment from China. Beijing is looking to the South American country for access to its oil while Caracas is in dire need of investment capital to build its infrastructure since the country is currently in the midst of a huge economic crisis.

However, the buildings have been plagued by structural problems at the units and shoddy work. Officials acknowledge some problems and say they will be corrected. The agreement also allows Chinese money to build factories for housing materials and trucks, helping Venezuela increase its manufacturing base, which has been in heavy decline.

This growing Chinese-Venezuelan economic partnership was part of the long-term strategy by President Nicolas Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez who wanted Caracas to breakaway away from political adversaries like the U.S. which is still Venezuela’s top trade partner.