|
Is this posturing?
----------------------------------------
Cuban leader Fidel Castro meets visiting Chinese general
Havana, Apr 23, 2004 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX) --
Fidel Castro, first secretary of the central committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, chairman of the State Council and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba, and commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, met with visiting General Xu Caihou, CCP [Chinese Communist Party] Central Committee Secretariat member, Central Military Commission member, and China's PLA [People's Liberation Army] General Political Department director, and his entourage at the Revolution Palace in Havana on the evening of 22 April.
Castro expressed a warm welcome to Xu Caihou and his entourage. He pointed out: The bilateral ties between Cuba and China have been developing very well. Through mutual visits of the leaders, the friendly relations between Cuba and China have shown a strong development momentum. Castro said: The Cuban people are very happy and also deeply inspired by China's successful economic development. He hoped that China could develop at a faster speed and realize the reunification of the motherland at an early date. Xu Caihou said: Although China and Cuba are [geographically] far apart, China and Cuba share common interests and a common language on many issues. In recent years, the friendly cooperative ties between the two countries have developed rapidly. China and Cuba have supported each other politically, enhanced cooperation economically, and closely cooperated with each other in international affairs. Both parties, both countries, and both armies have maintained a good relationship. Xu Caihou pointed out: On the basis of the continuous development of bilateral ties, the relations between the two armies have achieved satisfactory development. Over the past many years, the personnel contacts of the two armies have been frequent. The exchanges in various fields have been continuously deepened. The cooperative results have been fruitful. The Chinese side is willing to make joint efforts with the Cuban side to promote the forward development of the relations of the two armies. Present at the meeting were: China's PLA Navy Political Commissar Hu Yanlin, Air Force Political Department Director Sun Junzhe, Beijing Military Region Chief of Staff Chang Wanquan, China's National Defence Ministry Foreign Affairs Office Director Zhang Bangdong and Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Li Lianfu.
Source: Xinhua news agency domestic service, Beijing, in Chinese 0748 gmt 23 Apr 04
|