The economy of Venezuela, Latin America's largest oil producer, is on the brink of collapse, complete with dropping oil prices, heavy debt and a shortage of various necessities. The question of whether China will lend a helping hand has recently been drawing attention.
拉丁美洲最大的石油生产国委内瑞拉，由于持续下跌的油价，沉重的负债以及各种生产生活必需品的匮乏，目前经济已处于崩溃的边缘。中国到底会不会伸出援手的问题最近得到了许多关注。
A top Venezuelan economic official recently said that the country has reached a deal with China to improve the conditions of an oil-for-loans deal. According to the official, all conditions, including time frames and investment amounts, have been greatly improved.
一名委内瑞拉高级经济官员最近表示，他们的国家已经和中国达成一项石油贷款的协议。根据该官员所说，所有的石油生产条件，包括时限和投资都得到了大大改善。
A Chinese spokesperson, Hong Lei, said at a press conference on May 17 that the two sides have agreed to explore effective means of making their financing cooperation more flexible, but he gave no specifics.
中国发言人洪磊在5月17日的发布会上表示，双方都同意探索有效的途径来使得融资合作更加灵活，但是他并没透露更多的具体信息。

Financing cooperation is a commercial venture between financial institutions and companies belonging to two sides. Funds have already been used for economic and social development programs in Venezuela, as well as cooperation projects between China and Venezuela, creating tangible benefits for both sides, said Hong.
融资合作是一项双方金融机构和公司之间的商业投资。洪磊表示，为了给双方创造实实在在的利益，资金已经用于委内瑞拉的经济和社会发展项目，以及中委之间的合作项目。
Given the change in global oil prices, the two sides agreed to explore effective means of enhancing the flexibility of a bilateral financing cooperation, according to Hong.
据洪磊所说，鉴于目前国际油价的改变，双方同意探索增进双边融资合作的灵活性的有效途径。
China has lent some $50 billion to Venezuela over the last decade, but Venezuela—deep in economic crisis in for the past several years—has been unable to pay China back. The Financial Times reported in October 2014 that China has already extended loans to Venezuela and could continue to extend them indefinitely.
中国在过去十年中已经向委内瑞拉借款500亿美元，委内瑞拉在过去几年中一直深陷经济危机，并无力偿还中国。金融时报2014年10月曾经报道，中国已经向委内瑞拉延长贷款并会无限地继续延长下去。
Venezuelan President Maduro declared on May 13 that the state of economic emergency started earlier this year will be extended for at least another 60 days. He believes that the country will remain in a state of emergency for the rest of 2016 and possibly all of 2017.
委内瑞拉总统马杜罗于5月13日声明，于今年早些时候开始的国家经济紧急情况将会再持续至少60天。他认为，委内瑞拉会在2016年接下来的日子甚至可能是2017年都处于紧急状态中。
Although oil prices rebounded slightly in recent months, they cannot rescue the Venezuelan economy. The IMF predicted that the country's GDP will shrink by 8 percent in 2016 and 12 percent in 2017. The CPI was expected to reach 720 percent, or five times the official figure.
虽然油价在最近几个月有小幅回弹，但这也无法拯救委内瑞拉的经济。国际货币基金组织预测委内瑞拉2016年的GDP将会缩水8个百分点，2017年将缩水12个百分点。消费者价格指数预估会达到720%，或者说是官方数据的5倍。
Venezuela is in the middle of a deep economic recession. The country is facing a shortage of food and electricity, which Maduro's opposition has attributed to the president's poor management. Nevertheless, Maduro insists that he will remain in office until his term expires in 2019.
委内瑞拉正处于严重的经济衰退中。整个国家面临着食物和电力的短缺，马杜罗的反对派将这一切都归罪于总统的管理不善。尽管如此，马杜罗坚称，他会完成任期直到2019年卸任。