On the 11th, a U.S. cabinet member said that China purchased some of the Venezuelan crude oil the United States sold on the 11th (local time).
According to Bloomberg News and other outlets, U.S. Energy Minister Chris Wright said at a press briefing held in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, that "China has already purchased some of the Venezuelan crude oil the U.S. government sold (last month)." However, Wright did not provide details.
The Donald Trump administration proceeded with a $500 million (about 740 billion won) sale of Venezuelan crude oil after extraditing President Nicolás Maduro last month. The Trump administration delivered the $500 million deposited into a U.S. Treasury account opened in Qatar to the Venezuelan government in two installments.
Previously, President Trump signed an executive order under which the United States would sell on behalf of Venezuela the crude oil that was difficult to export due to sanctions, manage the proceeds, and decide on the use of the funds on behalf of the Venezuelan government.
Until the United States extradited President Maduro, the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude oil was China. Chinese private refiners bought the sanctioned Venezuelan oil at discounted prices, and the proceeds served as a funding lifeline for the Maduro regime.
Answering a question about the possibility of joint ventures in the oil business in Venezuela on the day, Minister Wright said, "Transactions by legitimate Chinese corporations under lawful business conditions would not be a problem." Wright also said the Trump administration's quarantine of ships exporting Venezuelan crude had ended.