The Cuban President began his visit to China, and China's home diplomacy boom continued

Source: Global Times

Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba, paid a state visit to China from 24 to 26. "Diaz-Canel is the first Latin American and Caribbean head of state received by China after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which is of great significance to the development of Cuban-Chinese relations." Cuba's Latin American News Agency quoted Cuban Ambassador to China Pereira as saying on the 23rd. In the economic and trade field, China is Cuba's largest trade partner in goods, and Cuba is China's second largest trading partner in the Caribbean. In international affairs, the two countries' global governance propositions are highly consistent. "Cuba has a close relationship with China and can refer to and learn from each other in the process of socialist construction." Wang Youming, director of the Developing Countries Institute of the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times reporter. Some foreign media described Cuba as one of China's truly like-minded countries that can be called brothers. After the conclusion of the visit by Diaz-Kanel, Mongolian President Uhana Khužilsukh and Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee General Secretary and President Thonglun will also pay a state visit to China, and the diplomatic boom that China has set off since the end of October continues. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said on the 23rd that in a series of recent formal diplomatic activities, China is committed to reaffirming its commitment to regional and global governance.

"Great potential for cooperation" in many fields

Cuba is the first Latin American and Caribbean country in the Western Hemisphere to establish diplomatic relations with New China. According to a report by Cuba's Latin American News Agency on the 23rd, Cuban Ambassador to China Pereira said in an interview that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and China 62 years ago, bilateral relations have continued to progress and develop, maintaining the highest level of cooperation and dialogue, and the top leaders are willing to promote the further strengthening of bilateral relations.

"Voice of America" reported on the 24th quoted Almoni, a scholar of international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, as saying that for China, Cuba occupies a "unique and very special position", embodies brotherhood, and plays the role of comrade or friend.

According to the Latin American News Agency, Pereira said that the Chinese government defends international law and multilateralism and actively speaks out for developing countries. China has always opposed the economic blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba, while Cuba adheres to the one-China principle and opposes Western interference in China's internal affairs on the grounds of human rights.

"China is Cuba's most important trading partner, its main source of financing, and an important participant in the construction of major Cuban projects." Pereira said that the signing of the cooperation document on the "Belt and Road" provides rare opportunities for the economic development of the two countries, in addition, the two countries have huge cooperation potential in biotechnology, tourism and language and cultural exchanges.

Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shu Hengting said at a press conference on the 24th that in 2021, the bilateral trade volume between China and Cuba increased by 7.2%; In the first three quarters of this year, bilateral trade continued to grow, and China's imports from Cuba increased by 18.1%. Xu Shicheng, a researcher at the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was quoted by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post as saying Cuba was interested in "all goods from China," from agricultural and food products to appliances and transportation. Data show that in 2021, the total trade between the two countries reached $1.02 billion, of which China's exports to Cuba amounted to $576 million.

The South China Morning Post mentioned that Cuba has been facing economic challenges since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. In late September, hurricanes wreaked havoc in many parts of Cuba and caused massive power outages. Diaz-Canel's visit to China is widely seen in part to garner support from long-term trade and energy partners. The US "Philadelphia Horn" magazine said on the 22nd that China has always been very willing to help Cuba out of the predicament.

In addition, the Voice of America said that Cuba is relatively rich in natural resources, and data released by the US Geological Survey shows that Cuba is one of the world's major producers of cobalt and nickel. Under the background of the efforts of the United States and its allies to form a new energy materials alliance, Cuba's mineral resources are of certain strategic significance to China's new energy development.

China-Latin America economic and trade cooperation "exceeds pre-pandemic level"

"Cuba can play an active role in enhancing China's all-round relations with Latin America and deepening cooperation with other countries in the region." Wang Youming, director of the Institute of Developing Countries of the China Institute of International Studies, described in an interview with the Global Times on the 24th that in the Latin American political ecology, Cuba has produced the role of "small oars rowing big boats", although its land area is not large, but its influence in Latin America and the Caribbean, and even on the international stage, cannot be underestimated. The scholar mentioned that today, the leaders of many Latin American countries are left-wing, which is conducive to improving Cuba's external development environment.

The Cuban leader's visit to China has renewed the focus on interaction and cooperation between China and Latin American countries. Forbes magazine said this month that today, Beijing's report card of activities in Latin America is long and eye-catching. Over the past decade, China has established comprehensive strategic partnerships with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.

Shu Hengting said on the 24th that economic and trade cooperation is the "ballast stone" and "stabilizer" of China's relations with Latin American countries. Latin America is a natural extension of the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", and 21 countries have signed cooperation documents on the "Belt and Road" with China. "In recent years, China-Latin America economic and trade cooperation has overcome the adverse impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, shown strong resilience and development momentum, and has now fully recovered and exceeded the pre-epidemic level."

According to Forbes, since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, China-Latin America trade volume has grown at an average annual rate of 31%, and China has now become the largest trading partner in South America, second only to the United States in the entire Latin American region. "From the metro in Bogotá (Colombia's capital) to South America's largest solar power plant in the province of Jujuy in northern Argentina, they are building infrastructure and financing related projects." Argentina's Buenos Aires Times recently described the investment footprint of Chinese companies in Latin America. According to the "China Global Investment Tracker" database provided by the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation, since 2010, Chinese companies have invested $64 billion, $25 billion, $16 billion and $11 billion in Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina, respectively.

China's relations with Latin American countries often cause so-called "concerns" in some Western countries and their media. "Voice of America" said on the 24th that Latin America has long been regarded as the "backyard" of the United States, and now China's influence here is increasing. "Helping Cuba is helping China expand its soft power in Central America." An academic at King's College London claimed. Deutsche Welle said the ninth Summit of the Americas, held in Los Angeles in June, was a key platform for the United States to "confront China." The United States has tried to convince Latin American partners that Washington is a more reliable and transparent business partner than Beijing, but some Latin American leaders believe that the United States is just talking. "Washington may hate the word hegemony, but it is undeniable that in anyone's memory it has been exercising almost unfettered hegemony in Latin America." Forbes commented.

The people of Mongolia look forward to the president's visit to China

China's diplomatic boom continues. On November 27-28, Mongolian President Uhna Khuzhilesukh will pay a state visit to China. The Global Times reporter saw that after the Mongolian President's Office released the news on Facebook on the 22nd, local netizens paid strong attention, and more than 1,500 likes, 1,120 reprints and more than 330 comments in the past two days. "It is important to be at peace with neighboring countries", "Learn how Chinese leaders have lifted Chinese people out of poverty", "China is the country that really helped Mongolia"... Mongolian netizens expressed their expectations for the president's visit to China.

From November 29 to December 1, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President Thonglon will also pay a state visit to China. According to the Financial Times on the 24th, European Council President Michel will visit China next month. In this regard, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said on the 24th that China will release news in due course.

The South China Morning Post said on the 23rd that in recent formal diplomatic activities, China is committed to reaffirming its commitment to regional and global governance. Observers have generally commented positively on China's recent efforts to ease tensions and improve relations with the United States and other countries. While China's foreign policy on major power relations and geopolitics has remained largely unchanged, the moderate tone of the Chinese leader has been impressive and welcomed. Hardy Chatrand, a professor of political science at Temple University in Japan, believes that China has repeatedly stressed the uncertainty of the current international situation on multilateral and bilateral occasions, and successfully led all parties to agree that the situation needs to be prevented from further deterioration by strengthening communication and other means.

【Global Times special correspondent in Mexico and Mongolia Peng Min, Huo Wen, Global Times reporter Li Xiaoxiao, Ding Yayan, Aoki Wang Yi, Liu Yupeng】