Caracas, Jul 11 (IANS): President Hugo Chavez has signed a $2 billion contribution from Venezuela to a binational fund with China.

The approval of "this new tranche" of funding is "another success for our foreign policy ... completely independent of multilateral credit entities", Chavez said regarding the finance programme agreed to between Caracas and Beijing to undertake Venezuelan projects, reported EFE.

Venezuela will pay China for those resources with petroleum shipments, Chavez said.

"It's not true that we're giving it, we're selling it and at the market price," the president said.

Venezuela currently exports about 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of petroleum to China, with the goal being to up the flow of crude to 1 million bpd in three years.

Chavez appeared once again on television showing evidence that he has gained weight after the two operations he underwent June 10 and June 20 in Cuba, the latter to remove a cancerous tumor.

The president returned to the country last Monday after spending a month abroad, most of it in Cuba, where he underwent surgery and received treatment for cancer.