China and Cuba, fellow travelers of socialism › World › Granma

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the visit to Cuba of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President of the Republic, Xi Jinping. We still clearly remember the moving scene of the President's cordial meetings with revolutionary leaders Fidel Castro and Raúl Castro, as well as with current President Miguel Díaz-Canel, on the eve of the anniversary on July 26, 2014.

President Xi Jinping also visited Santiago de Cuba, the city of heroes, accompanied by Comrade Ral Castro, on board the Chinese special flight. He visited the former site of the Moncada Barracks and had a close interaction with the Cuban people on the balcony of the second floor of the City Hall, where the Commander-in-Chief announced the victory of the Cuban Revolution.

This historic visit has become an eternal memory in the history of Sino-Cuban relations.

AN EXAMPLE OF SOLIDARITY AND COOPERATION

The leaders of the two countries personally put forward the blueprint for the development of relations between the two parties and the two countries, indicated the direction of binational relations and played a strategic compass role.

Over the past decade, China has made historic progress and undergone tremendous changes. It has also been a decade in which China-Cuba relations have become more vital and flourishing.

Moreover, during this period, sincere friendship has deepened, mutually beneficial cooperation has expanded, and the two countries have become very close partners in reform and development. China-Cuba relations have already become an exemplary case of solidarity and cooperation among socialist countries and sincere mutual support among developing countries.

China and Cuba have the same social systems, the same ideals and beliefs, and share the same pursuit of development and prosperity. They are following the path of socialist modernization, with their own characteristics.

In November 2022, President Díaz-Canel, as the first head of state of a Latin American and Caribbean country, visited China after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). During this exchange, he reached an important consensus with President Xi Jinping on the need to join efforts to build a Sino-Cuban community with a shared future, and from there, ties reached a higher level.

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, held recently, has formulated a systematic strategic plan to further deepen reform in an all-round manner and promote modernization with Chinese characteristics. It urgently calls for attention to a new expedition.

Almost at the same time, Cuba held the 8th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the third ordinary session of the National Assembly of People's Power. The two sides are planning the development of their respective parties and countries, which will inject new impetus into the development of China-Cuba relations in the next stage.

The Third Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee set the goal of basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035, focused on implementing major reform measures in the next five years, and proposed more than 300 measures centered on building a more established high-level socialist market economy.

Similarly, it plans to build systems and mechanisms to support comprehensive innovation, promote high-quality development that provides strong impetus and institutional guarantee for realizing modernization with Chinese characteristics.

The session stressed that opening-up is a distinctive symbol of China's modernization, which fully demonstrates China's determination and responsibility to share opportunities with the world.

China will improve its high-level overseas opening-up system and mechanisms, integrate more proactively into the international economy, and release more dividends from opening up to the world. China's development will benefit not only the Chinese people, but also the people of the South and other countries in the world.

As the most important partner of Latin American and Caribbean countries, China will pay more attention to cooperation with Cuba and other countries in the region in the field of innovation, provide more support for the sharing of scientific and technological development results, and promote new impetus to economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin America and the Caribbean, helping cooperation in traditional fields to constantly expand to new energy sectors, digital transformation and cross-border e-commerce, for the greater benefit of the two peoples.

China and Cuba are fellow travelers in socialism, good partners for common development and excellent comrades in strategic coordination.

As I arrive in Cuba to assume my new duties on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of President Xi Jinping's visit to Cuba, I deeply feel that I am fulfilling a glorious mission and a great responsibility.

I am willing to work with my Cuban colleagues to fully implement the important consensus reached by senior leaders of the two Parties and countries, deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields, inherit the special friendship and promote the sailing of a China-Cuba community with a shared future.

*Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Cuba