As part of his agenda, Penalver will meet with Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu, as well as other senior officials from the Chinese government and Communist Party.

In an interview to Prensa Latina during his visit to China last May, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez emphasized that the bilateral relationship is of a special nature with strategic scope and reiterated his gratitude to Beijing for its support for the island’s development.

The Cuban Foreign Minister noted that this year both countries mark the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties, characterized by deep mutual political trust and high levels of exchange between the respective Communist Parties, governments, and organizations.

Although diplomatic ties will mark 65 years, historical ties date back to the 19th century when the first Chinese citizens arrived in the Caribbean country.

Rodriguez highlighted the growing dynamism of economic and commercial relations, as well as in the areas of culture, science, academia, sports, and other multiple sectors of society.

On September 2, 1960, in front of more than a million Cubans, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, urged breaking relations with the government of Taiwan in order to establish diplomatic ties with Mao Zedong’s People’s Republic of China.

On September 28 of that year, Cuba became the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to establish these ties with the new China, paving the way for relations between the Asian giant and the rest of the nations in the region.

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