2006年VOA标准英语-Venezuela's Chavez Signs Oil Deal With Vietnam

By Matt Steinglass
Hanoi
31 July 2006

Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung, right, talks with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Hanoi, Vietnam, July 31, 2006   
  
The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, is in the Vietnamese capital, seeking support in his campaign to counter the United States' global influence and build what he calls a "multi-polar world". But the Vietnamese seem more interested in Chavez's offer to help them build an oil refinery 1. 

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A military band in white with gold braid welcomed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to the presidential palace in Hanoi.

Mr. Chavez, known for his defiance 2 of the United States, is on a world tour of past and present political adversaries 3 of the United States, including Belarus, Russia and Iran. He minced 4 no words on what he felt Venezuela and Vietnam had in common.

Mr. Chavez says both countries had stood up against colonialism and imperialism 5.

These words have gone out of fashion in Vietnamese diplomacy 6, however. Vietnam today tends to put commercial interests ahead of ideological 7 ones. Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet emphasized the two countries' prospects 8 for economic cooperation.

Mr. Triet says Vietnam and Venezuela could cooperate in many areas of society, economy and culture.

The two countries signed agreements to collaborate 9 in diplomatic and cultural affairs and, most importantly, in mining and energy.

Both Vietnam and Venezuela are oil exporters. Venezuela is the world's fourth-largest oil producer, while Vietnam earned $7.4 billion from crude oil exports in 2005.

But Vietnam lacks any domestic refining capacity. A decade-long government project to construct a refinery has run into problems with corruption 10, design flaws, and lack of capital.

Mr. Chavez estimated that with a refinery, Vietnam could save billions of dollars a year in gasoline imports.

Mr. Chavez enthusiastically promised to help Vietnam complete the refinery. Details of how he would do so were not released.

For Mr. Chavez, the stakes in Vietnam are more geopolitical than economic. The Venezuelan president is foremost among several leftist Latin American leaders who oppose U.S. foreign policy.

In the presidents' joint 11 press conference, Chavez expressed his admiration 12 for Vietnam's late communist leader, Ho Chi Minh. On Tuesday, he plans to visit General Vo Nguyen Giap, the 94-year-old hero of Vietnam's wars against France and the United States.

Mr. Chavez said he wanted Vietnam's help in building a multi-polar world, in other words, one with alternatives to American power.

But Vietnam's President Triet was silent on this point. Vietnam has spent the past 10 years cultivating friendly relations with the United States, which is now its number-one trading partner.