Chinese leaders and the public have offered condolences to Cubans who lost their former leader Fidel Castro late on Friday, and as older Chinese generations remember the revolutionary warrior with nostalgia, analysts predict Cuba will continue along its reformist path that will benefit major economies such as the US and China.

A Beijing resident bows after laying a wreath outside the Cuban Embassy in Beijing on Sunday, following the death of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro late Friday at the age of 90. Photo: Li Hao/GT

"The death of Comrade Fidel Castro is a great loss to the Cuban and Latin American people. The Cuban and Latin American people lost an excellent son, and the Chinese people lost a close comrade and sincere friend," President Xi Jinping said in a message of condolence to his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro, after his brother died at the age of 90.

Dozens of Chinese people of all ages spontaneously went to Cuba's embassy in Beijing with flowers on Sunday morning to show their grief and respect for this "close comrade and sincere friend."

"People of my generation all remember a Chinese song called 'Beautiful Havana,' and we all know how to sing it because we sang it to support the Cuban revolution in the 1950s," Zhao Chengshun, a 65-year-old Beijing resident, told the Global Times outside the embassy on Sunday.

"He was a tough man, who led a small country to fight against giant hegemony. These people will always be respected in our Chinese culture," Zhao added.

Wang Jiesen, another Beijing resident in his 20s, brought a letter and flowers to the embassy on Sunday morning and sang "the Internationale" outside the embassy.

"We can't let his dream as well as our dream die with him," Wang said.

"Both countries have faced a lot of hostility and containment from the West, and Castro's reputation for leading such a small country against its gigantic neighbor is an inspiration for many countries. Not only for China but for smaller countries," Hua Liming, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.

The reaction of Chinese citizens to Castro's death also reflects the challenges China and Cuba still face today from the West, Hua said.

Charismatic leader

Xi, who met with Castro twice in 2011 and 2014 in Havana, once as vice president, and later as Chinese president, also recalled their warm discussions.

"I met with Comrade Fidel Castro many times and held in-depth conversations with him. His real knowledge and deep insight inspired me as his voice and expression live in my memory. Both I and the Chinese people miss him deeply," Xi said in the condolence message.

A charismatic leader, Castro was also remembered with fondness by the Chinese officials who came into contact with him. Former Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Xu Yicong said he was impressed by Castro's knack for using chopsticks and his love of Chinese food.

Xu told the West China Metropolis Daily in an interview that when one day, Castro came to his place for dinner, he did not touch the knives or forks that Xu prepared for him, but only used chopsticks. After dinner, Castro made a joke to his people that "Ambassador Xu didn't feed me anything. I didn't even touch my tableware."

During the 1960s when Sino-Soviet Union relations were severed, Cuba remained neutral at first, but later, Sino-Cuban relations turned frosty due to Moscow's powerful influence and some differences with China, Xu Shicheng, a research fellow in Latin American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

"But based on the shared recognition of the international situation in the 1980s, Castro started to work with us to repair the relationship and it was very successful," Xu Shicheng said.

Despite the majority's adulation of the late Cuban leader, a small number of people are whipping up hostile sentiment on China's Internet, citing Castro's unfriendly comments on China during the Cold War. The negative views of some Chinese online users were rebuffed by admirers as "blindly following whatever the US dictates."

Mixed emotions

Castro's death has touched off a mixed bag of emotions across the world. In countries like China, Russia, Vietnam and North Korea, officials and people tend to remember their erstwhile comrade with nostalgia. The United Nations, as well as some Western countries like the UK and France also gave positive evaluations and showed respect to Castro.

However, in Miami where many Cuban exiles live, celebrations were held after news of Castro's death broke out, as dissidents still see the former leader as a dictator.

In the post-Castro era, Cuba's relationship with the rest of the world will be changed to some extent. US President Barack Obama's legacy might open a window for Cuban reform, Chu Yin, an associate professor at the University of International Relations, told the Global Times.

"Although Donald Trump's conservative right-wing attitude is hostile to Castro, he might continue Obama's policy on Cuba, given Cuba's economic potential," Chu said.

But Cuba has always worried that the US would try to instigate a "color revolution" to overthrow its communist government, so the US-Cuban relationship is also not totally optimistic, Chu noted, adding that Cuba will seek closer ties with China to balance the US' influence.

"Cuba boasts economic potential because of its geographic location, and it is really possible to become a 'Singapore' in the Caribbean, since its relations with the US are getting better now … Chinese enterprises should seize the opportunity," Chu said.