Miguel Díaz-Canel received Liu Haixing, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and head of its International Department, this Monday at the Palace of Conventions in Havana, in a meeting that the Cuban regime presented as a display of Beijing's solidarity with the Island.
The meeting, according to the Presidency of Cuba, took place shortly before the opening of the I International Colloquium "Fidel: Legacy and Future," an event that is part of the official celebrations for the centenary of Fidel Castro's birth, scheduled for August 13.
Díaz-Canel was joined by Roberto Morales Ojeda, a member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, and by Emilio Lozada García, head of the Department of International Relations of the same body.
The president described the Chinese official's visit as "an expression of support from the Communist Party of China to the Island, in the difficult circumstances that the Largest of the Antilles is currently experiencing."
During the meeting, Díaz-Canel took the opportunity to criticize Washington and attributed the Cuban crisis to external pressures, denouncing what he referred to as "the multidimensional war waged by the United States government against Cuba." This would include, in his words, "a criminal energy blockade" and secondary sanctions on companies worldwide that hinder Cuba’s access to economic and social resources.
The ruler went on to describe the pressure policies of the Trump administration as "a genocidal and criminal program, meticulously calculated by the government of the United States, and accompanied by a narrative construction from the State Department, fabricating pretexts to justify the aggression."
The meeting adds to the statements by the spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun, who called on Washington this Monday to lift the sanctions against Cuba "as soon as possible" and accused the United States of "blaming others."
The statements were made during the usual press conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, after a journalist from Prensa Latina inquired about Beijing's position regarding the sanctions announced on August 6 against five entities and eight individuals linked to the Cuban military apparatus and its ties with China and Russia.
"China has repeatedly expressed its stance on this issue. We urge the U.S. to lift the sanctions and blockade against Cuba as soon as possible and to stop blaming others," stated Guo, according to a tweet from the Chinese ambassador in Havana, Hua Xin.
The Asian giant has become the main partner of the regime for the so-called energy transition. Díaz-Canel explicitly thanked the Chinese government and the Communist Party for "the support they have given us in the energy transition program in our country, towards Renewable Energy Sources."
Just three days before this meeting, China delivered a second batch of 5,000 photovoltaic systems for rural homes and essential services to Cuba. The bilateral plan includes the construction of 92 solar parks by 2028, with a combined capacity of approximately 2,000 MW.
Díaz-Canel also conveyed to Liu Haixing "the fraternal greetings of Army General Raúl Castro" to him and to Chinese President Xi Jinping, and expressed gratitude for "Comrade Xi Jinping's sensitivity regarding the situation in Cuba and his personal attention."
For his part, Liu Haixing conveyed to the Cuban leader "the sincere greetings and best wishes of Secretary General and President Xi Jinping," both to Díaz-Canel and Raúl Castro, and promised to inform the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China about the content of the meeting.
This is not the first time Liu Haixing has had contact with Cuban diplomacy: in February of this year, he met in Beijing with Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, during a visit that also included Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and senior official Wang Huning.
Filed under: