It depends on how long Rodriguez has a job in Venezuela. The second she doesn't, China loses a friendly port of call in the Southern Hemisphere. As for short term you quantified it: they're paying more per barrel of oil they're getting.

Again, we'll see. None of this is personal to Rodriguez, any more than it was personal to Maduro. As long as the military dictatorship is in charge, China keeps their friendly port of call.

BTW that's why, for the life of me, I can't understand why Trump keeps publicly dismissing Machado. Even if he believes she can't take over (and that very well might be correct), why let the regime know that's what you think? We have very little leverage over them if we don't have an alternative. If we don't have a Plan B, and they know we don't have a Plan B, then they know we can't take any action that would remove them from power. It's not about her.

As for the oil price, it's a rounding error. A trivial cost. A few dollars per barrel more, on a tiny slice of their oil? For an economy the size of China's?