China, Brazil in landmark oil for loans deal

China and Brazil on Thursday signed an agreement that will see the South American country supply China with oil in exchange for loans, the Financial Times reported. The deal was announced after Vice President Xi Jinping met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia. Brazil’s state-owned oil firm Petrobras will supply China between 100,000 and 16,000 barrels of oil per day. China will provide loans of up to US$10 billion to help Petrobras and other private sector partners develop reserves of oil and gas recently discovered in coastal waters. China on Wednesday also signed energy and investment agreements in Venezuela, renewing US$6 billion China-Venezuela development fund with an additional US$6 billion.