Venezuela’s government, facing a cash crunch amid a slump in oil prices, signed a deal to receive a $5 billion loan from China, President Nicolás Maduro said Tuesday. The funds will go to increase oil production in Venezuela in the coming months, Mr. Maduro said without offering more details during an address from China that was broadcast on Venezuelan state television. Support from Beijing—which also renewed a separate $5 billion loan to Venezuela earlier this year—may offer some relief to bond markets, where Venezuela’s debt securities are rated among the world’s riskiest. Wall Street analysts say the country could default on its debt as soon as next year. Mr. Maduro visited Vietnam and China this week in pursuit of financial aid for South America’s largest oil exporter as it reels from triple-digit inflation and worsening food shortages. The economic troubles are weighing on the ruling Socialist Party’s popularity ahead […]