CARACAS, Jan. 7 -- Venezuela's growing ties with China are vital to the development of the South American nation and the whole Latin America, a political analyst said here on Wednesday.

Commenting on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's current visit to China, Yarisma Perez Aparicio said it "will have an impact not only on the country, in terms of developing production capacity and transferring technology, but also regionwide."

Perez, an international relations professor at Venezuelan Institute of Diplomatic Higher Education, and also a lawyer, made the remarks in an interview broadcast by VTV.

Maduro is in China to attend Thursday's opening ceremony of the first ministerial meeting of the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which, according to Perez, "will have a positive impact on Latin America."

Venezuela's ties with China help the country to withstand various challenges, the analyst added.