On November 17, 1960, the Cuban government economic delegation led by Che Guevara visited China for the first time, and Vice Premier Li Xiannian of the State Council waited at the airport to greet him.
At the welcoming banquet held by Zhou Enlai, vice chairman of the CPC Central Committee and premier of the State Council the next day, Che Guevara met with Marshal Chen Yi, vice premier and foreign minister of the State Council, Li Xiannian, vice premier of the State Council and minister of finance, and others. At the banquet, Che Guevara made a "most earnest request" to Zhou Enlai in French.
Shen Yunfu former ambassador to foreign countries
Che Guevara solemnly proposed to Premier Zhou that he would see Chairman Mao no matter what, and that Fidel Castro and Raul Castro had given him an explanation and must see Chairman Mao.
On the afternoon of November 19, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai met with Che Guevara at the Zhongnanhai Qinzheng Palace. Seeing Mao Zedong, whom he had admired for a long time, Che Guevara was so nervous that he did not even say a word. Mao smiled, took Che Guevara's hand, spoke cordially and sincerely with him, and told Che Guevara that he had also read Che Guevara's article "Notes on the Study of the Ideology of the Cuban Revolution" and was very much in favor of the ideas in the article.
Che Guevara was very grateful after hearing this, and he believed that cuba was able to achieve victory because of reading many of Mao Zedong's articles, being deeply inspired, and learning a lot of Mao Zedong's guerrilla warfare ideas, helping them to win one victory after another.
Seeing that Mao Zedong was so kind, Che Guevara at this time also gradually opened the conversation box. He praised Chinese green tea, saying, "Tasting such a fragrant tea in China is like drinking yerba mate." A cup of Chinese tea further brings the distance between them closer.
During his meetings with Mao, Che Guevara, then president of the Cuban Bank, was worried that he had not attended a school in finance and economics, but Chairman Mao comforted him with a light-hearted and humorous tone and introduced him to a very important Chinese experience. This Chinese experience just proves that the Cubans are exploring the viability of the road. Che Guevara was encouraged.
After a long and lively conversation, Mao hosted Che Guevara. During the banquet, Che Guevara gave a detailed account of the situation of the Cuban Revolution, the current situation in Cuba, and the threats facing Cuba from the United States. The Chinese side once again spoke highly of the significance of the Cuban Revolution and reiterated the firm position of the Chinese Government and the Chinese people to do everything possible to support the just struggle of the Cuban people.
At the banquet, Mao Zedong praised Che Guevara. Che Guevara also personally gave Mao Zedong his book on guerrilla warfare, saying that he was his schoolboy and expressed his admiration for Mao Zedong. At the same time, Mao Zedong also gave him a signed pamphlet on guerrilla warfare.
Bidding farewell to Mao Zedong, Che Guevara immediately sat solemnly at the economic negotiating table, which lasted for ten hours and went very smoothly.
Vice Premier Li Xiannian, head of the Chinese side, signed an economic cooperation agreement with Che Guevara and two protocols on trade and scientific and technological cooperation in 1961, and agreed that from 1961 to 1965, the Chinese side would give Cuba an interest-free loan of 240 million rubles (equivalent to 60 million US dollars) to provide complete equipment and technical assistance to help Cuba develop its economy. In 1961, it purchased 1 million tons of sugar and 5,000 tons of nickel and copper from Cuba. Che Guevara is grateful for China's support to Cuba.
Just after the signing of the intergovernmental economic cooperation agreement between China and Cuba, Che Guevara also met with Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, Peng Zhen, He Long and other Chinese leaders, and also visited Xi'an, Chengdu Chinese Chinese, Wuhan, Shanghai and other places, and visited some factories and enterprises.
Che Guevara was in high spirits when he visited the National Industrial Exhibition. During the visit, Che Guevara was very interested in various industrial machinery products, especially agricultural machinery, and he inquired in detail about the specifications, uses and prices of the products, and recorded them one by one.
Premier Zhou saw this and decided decisively to give these industrial machinery selfless aid to Cuba. At that time, the Cuban side wanted to write the words "Cuba thanks China for its selfless assistance" in the two national bulletins, but Premier Zhou disagreed, and Che Guevara tried to persuade Premier Zhou, but was instead persuaded by Premier Zhou Enlai. Che Guevara is grateful for China's support to Cuba.
Che Guevara also made a special visit to the Spanish Department of the Beijing Chinese College of Foreign Studies. Che Guevara was particularly happy to see that China had opened a Spanish language department, and at the request of teachers and students from Beiwai, he also recorded with great interest to encourage Beiwai students.
During his visit to China, Che Guevara was deeply impressed by the Chinese government's care for children, and Che Guevara was very touched by China's special attention and concern for children's health and hygiene. During a visit to Chengdu, China, Che Guevara was pleasantly surprised to find that China's development and construction were fully in line with his vision of a world revolution, further narrowing the distance with China, and believing that China under Chairman Mao's leadership was more promising.
Che Guevara's trip to China was a great success. After returning to China, he made many reports to introduce the situation in China and called on the people to learn from China's spirit of self-reliance and hard work. Che Guevara set off a "China fever" in Cuba.
Four years later, on February 3, 1965, Che Guevara's second visit to China, he was once again warmly and high-standard reception, che Guevara's heart was once again warmed by the deep friendship of the Chinese people.
Che Guevara was a revolutionary fighter, and wherever there was a revolution, he would go wherever he went. Since the outbreak of the people's armed uprising led by nationalist revolutionaries in Bolivia in April 1952, military coups have been frequent and the political situation has been long turbulent. Thus, in 1965, shortly after his return, Che Guevara resigned from all his positions in Cuba, leaving Fidel Castro a farewell letter and leaving Cuba to fight against imperialism in a new battlefield.
Between 1966 and 1967, Che Guevara began leading guerrilla revolutionary activities in Bolivia. When the CIA learned of Che Guevara's whereabouts, it began to intervene in the Bolivian Civil War and planned to capture Che Guevara. On October 8, 1967, Che Guevara was wounded and captured, and killed on the afternoon of the 9th.
Che Guevara died, but he was internationally famous.
Xu Yicong was a former ambassador to foreign countries
Because I have traveled in many places in Latin America. In some places, sometimes they tell me, and I have the opportunity to mention to them that I have seen Che Guevara, and I have shook hands with Che Guevara, and many people have come around me to shake my hand, and I think this can also be found that Che Guevara's influence in Latin America is still very common, very big, because everyone has more respect for him.
Che Guevara has become the bridge and link of friendship between China and Cuba, and more than 60 years have passed, and the two countries and peoples of China and Cuba have been in the same boat and share hardships and hardships, and the relations between the two countries have withstood the test of the international changes, and have endured for a long time, and the traditional friendship between China and Cuba has continued to write a new chapter.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Zhang Wu Text Editor: Li Linwei Title Image Source: Xinhua News Agency Infographic Photo Editor: Xiang Jianying
Source: Author: National Memory