Maduro attributes "industrial progress" in Venezuela to cooperation with China

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday attributed the "industrial progress" in his country to cooperation with China.

In a televised broadcast, Maduro handed out 4,600 Chinese-made taxis as part of an agreement with the Chinese automaker Chery that includes 20,000 cars in two years.

"All this is part of the great partnership we have with China and we want to continue working with China to build and set up their industries in Venezuela," said Maduro.

He added that these taxis are part of a social program called "transportation mission", which seeks to distribute vehicles and buses to public transport systems in the nation.

Maduro also announced that next week a Yutong bus plant will open in western Venezuela to assemble units of the Chinese brand for public transport systems.

"Venezuela will have the most modern bus plant in Latin America and the Caribbean," he said.

The factory will assemble three types of buses not only for Venezuela's needs but also for Yutong's clients in other countries in this region.

Among the models there will be a 9-meter-long mini bus for downtown routes with a capacity of 25 people along with 12-meter-long bus for suburban routes with 34 seats.

Also, the plant will produce 14-meter-long buses for lengthy routes that can carry up to 60 people.

Yutong has already exported over the past three years around 5,000 buses to Venezuela for 80 urban routes that transport over 2 million people daily, according to the Venezuelan government. Endi