Chavez works in two different worlds, what he says and what he does. Chavez is ego driven and an insult to him will be meet with a response which is sometimes not very well thought out. China effectively slapped Chavez in the face by not allowing him to visit China as planned. One way for Chavez to show his discontent with this is to mention that the Las Cristinas ( kry/chinese) venture would now be turned over to the Russians. Since the Chinese really do not have much invested in this project, Chavez may think he can do this with out much recourse from the Chinese. However, this action by Chavez may very well provoke the dragon into other actions. Chavez if not careful may very well sow the seeds of discontent for his relationship with China. If Chavez follows thru with his plans he is effectively telling China screw you, which will hurt diplomatic relations between the two countries. What Chavez has failed to take into account with the Chinese is they are very policy and protocol oreintated, and not abiding by these aspects shows a sign of disrepect to the country. This game of machonism between the two countries may have an escalating spill over effect if Chavez is not careful. My guess is Chavez will not provoke the dragon further, and all this is Chavez venting his frustration.

Jmho.