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US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said there will be “an absolutely dramatic turn” in the state of relations between the US and Venezuela.

“I believe we will see an absolutely dramatic turn in the trajectory of this nation, in the state of the relationships between Venezuela and the United States and in the business conditions and atmosphere for commerce and trade not just between our two countries but in the western hemisphere,” he told a briefing in Caracas on Wednesday.

“This is very different, it’s very out of the box,” he said.

Wright went on to say that the US does not formally recognize the current Venezuelan government led by acting president Delcy Rodriguez, who assumed office after the US captured former President Nicolas Maduro less than 40 days ago. Earlier in the day, Rodriguez declined to answer a question from the media on whether Venezuela would have elections soon.

Maduro’s name was mentioned just once in the two-hour meeting between US and Venezuelan officials on Wednesday, Wright said.

The energy secretary praised Venezuela’s hydrocarbon law reform, which will make it easier for foreign companies to take part in the country’s oil industry. Wright called it a “symbol of the desire to drive reform and move the country in a positive direction.”

The US official, the highest ranking one to visit the country in nearly three decades, said that China has already bought some of the Venezuelan crude oil being sold through the US government.

“Legitimate Chinese business deals under legitimate business conditions – that’s fine,” he said.

Wright said that in addition to Venezuelan oil, the two delegations also discussed critical mineral mining in Venezuela and the reconstruction of the electric grid.