China Cuba File photo

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that China is willing to walk together with Cuba in building socialism and be good partners in pursuing common development, in a phone conversation with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Xi also said China is willing to join hands with Cuba in being good exemplars of anti-COVID-19 fight and good comrades in strategic coordination. Diaz-Canel expressed to Xi best regards from Raul Castro, former Cuban president and former chief of the Communist Party of Cuba. Xi returned his greetings to Raul Castro.

Xi pointed out that under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba, Cubans have safeguarded their revolution fruits. The socialist cause has never been a smooth journey and Communists always seek survival and development and obtain victory through struggles, Xi said. 

China has always believed that every country has the right to choose its own path, and opposes unilateral sanctions or external interference. China supports Cuba to continue on the path suitable for its situation and its struggles to safeguard national sovereignty and security, Xi said, noting China will continue providing the aid Cuba needs to combat the epidemic and improve people's livelihood.

China-Cuba relations have stood the test of time and have become a model of friendship and cooperation between developing countries. No matter how the situation changes, China's principle of developing friendship with Cuba and deepening cooperation in various fields will not change, Xi said. China is willing to walk together with Cuba in building socialism and be good partners in pursuing common development, he said. 

Xi also noted China is willing to keep close high-level communications, enhance exchanges on governance of the party and the country, deepen cooperation on epidemic control and push bilateral ties further. 

Xi said that the two should enhance coordination on international issues and jointly safeguard the interests of developing countries. China is willing to speak and do things of justice for Cuba internationally. 

Latin America observers reached by the Global Times said that China and Cuba have similarities in ideology, system and revolutionary history, and have developed ties fighting US-led Western hegemony and ideological containment.

Pan Deng, the executive director of the Latin America and Caribbean Region Law Center of China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times that China and Cuba are close comrades on the socialist path and fighters against Western hegemony. Latin America is in the US' geopolitical reach, but cuba has been a model of independence and autonomy. 

Pan, who is also secretary general of the Latin American branch of the Western Returned Students' Association, noted Cuba can also be a bridge in China-Latin America relations.  

Diaz-Canel said Cuba is willing to play a positive role in promoting China's relations with Latin American countries. 

Diaz-Canel appreciated the long-term Chinese support, including medical supplies and vaccines in the battle against COVID-19, which mirrors a brotherhood between the two countries. 

Cuba steps firmly on the socialist path and hopes to have inter-party communications and practical cooperation with China, he said. 

Cuba will deepen coordination with China, jointly oppose hegemony and power politics, and oppose politicization and stigmatization of the pandemic. Cuba firmly upholds the one-China principle and will continue to support China's stance on the topics of core interests such as the Taiwan question and Xinjiang-related affairs, Diaz-Canel said. 

Pan noted Cuba had a serious shortage of food and medical materials this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and US embargo. But the livelihood problems were used by some external forces in the US to cultivate a color revolution. 

With declining influence in the Eastern Hemisphere, the US has stepped up efforts to seize the Western Hemisphere, hence enhancing the pace of the "peaceful revolution" of Cuba. 

A friend in need is a friend indeed, that's why China provides medical supplies and vaccines, as well as humanitarian aid to Cuba, observers said.

Pan said though Cuba has strong research and development capabilities, its own vaccines faced challenges in manufacturing amid US sanctions and the pandemic.  

Cuba started to administer China's Sinopharm vaccines along with its home-grown doses on Sunday to accelerate the inoculation pace, Havana Times reported.