Miguel Díaz-Canel received on Monday at the Palace of Conventions in Havana Liu Haixing, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and head of its International Department, in a meeting that the Cuban regime presented as a demonstration of Beijing's solidarity with the Island.
The meeting, according to the Presidency of Cuba, took place moments 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 accompanied 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 organization.
The leader described the Chinese official's visit as "an expression of support from the Communist Party of China for the Island, in the difficult circumstances currently faced by the largest of the Antilles."
In the meeting, Díaz-Canel took the opportunity to criticize Washington and attribute the Cuban crisis to external pressures, denouncing what he referred to as "the multidimensional war waged by the United States government against Cuba," which 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, accompanied by a narrative construction from the State Department, fabricating pretexts to justify the aggression."
The meeting adds to the statements made by the spokesman 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 "shifting the blame to others."
The statements took place during the usual press briefing of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, after a journalist from Prensa Latina inquired about Beijing's position on the sanctions announced on August 6 against five entities and eight individuals associated with the Cuban military apparatus and its ties to China and Russia.
"China has repeatedly expressed its position 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," Guo stated, according to a tweet from the Chinese ambassador in Havana, Hua Xin.
The Asian giant has become the main partner of the regime in 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" for him and for 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 for 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 engaged 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.
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