Chinese technology spurs Venezuela's economic development

CARACAS - Chinese technology is spurring Venezuela's industrial development, as evidenced by the arrival of more Chinese-made equipment on Tuesday to boost the country's leading mining industry.

The equipment, designed to increase Venezuela's capacity to produce the iron ore pellets needed for steel making, arrived at a dock in the Port of Palua in southern Bolivar state, which is operated by Venezuelan mining firm Ferrominera del Orinoco.

The shipment "forms part of the 14 principal and secondary pieces of Chinese-manufactured equipment that will facilitate the installing of a second (production) line, in order to increase the national production capacity," said Miguel Bezara, the firm's project leader.

China has also been contributing to the development of Venezuela's other economic areas, including telecommunications.

Cellphone manufacturing plant Orinoquia, a Chinese-Venezuelan joint venture launched in 2009 by then Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has steadily increased production thanks to an alliance with China's telecommunications giant Huawei.

Chung Kai-Chen, president of Orinoquia, said the company has adapted the production system used by Huawei, which owns 35 percent of Orinoquia, with successful results.

"Not only have we matched the production capacity of other companies, we have surpassed expectations," said Kai-Chen.

In its six years in business, the binational company has assembled more than 1.5 million cellphones, which are sold nationally at low costs.

Despite the economical price tag, he added, "we have a commitment to quality, we have made a point of that from the beginning. We currently have a failure rate of less than 1 percent when the phone is delivered to the client."

Orinoquia has 200 employees at its plant in Venezuela's capital Caracas, and generates an estimated 500 indirect jobs through its parts suppliers.