China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the United States, with trade a year ago exceeding Can$85 billion ($64.5 billion US).
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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in Cuba’s capital for an official visit created to deepen commercial and political ties between the two countries. It would also expand trade and financing to Cuba, Li was quoted by Xinhua as telling Castro. Abe said Japan also wanted to increase economic cooperation with Cuba in the area of infrastructure.
The trip comes two years after President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the Caribbean country.
Companies from the United States and Japan and other Western countries began to enter Cuba after theWashington normalised ties with its former foe past year.
“Economic cooperation between the two countries keeps growing and new opportunities arise in areas like biotechnology, health, renewable energy, industries, and environmental protection”, Hernandez said. In addition, China is the main source of credit for Cuba.
“It will also allow the Chinese leadership to examine future joint projects and see how much China’s experience has helped Cuba in updating its socialist model”, said the renowned Cuban academic.
“I’m looking forward to deepening the two countries’ traditional friendship, enhancing pragmatic cooperation, increasing people-to-people exchanges and working together and promoting cooperation at a critical time for both countries, so as to carry forward China-Cuba relations on a higher level”, Li said.
Abe said Japan would offer Cuba debt relief worth 1.2 billion yen of a total of 1.8 billion yen, as the debt had “long constrained [the Japan-Cuba] relationship”.
The limited trade volume is a concern for Cuban leaders, with exports to China only standing at some US$330 million past year.
Li’s trip to Havana marks the first official visit to Cuba by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1960, making it a truly unique chance to boost bilateral cooperation.
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China is closely watching the recent resurgence of right-wing forces in Latin America, according to observers.
