Castro Meets Chinese Foreign MinisterCuban State Council President Fidel Castro Ruz Saturday met visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan on bilateral relations and other issues of common interest.Castro congratulated China on its remarkable achievements in economic development, and hoped that the Sino-African Cooperation Forum, to be held in Beijing in October, will be a full success. Cuba has attached great importance to relations with China, Castro said, adding that he believed the friendly cooperative Cuban-Sino relations will see further development in the new century. Tang said that Sino-Cuban relations have entered a period of stable and comprehensive development, with a frequent exchange of visits of high-level officials and strengthened friendly bilateral cooperation in all fields. The two countries cooperate closely and support each other in global affairs, and the Chinese government thanks Cuba's support to China over the issues, such as human rights, Taiwan, Tibet and China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), he said. Tang said that China will support Cuba, as always, in opposing foreign intervention, safeguarding its national sovereignty and independence, and developing its economy. At their meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. Millennium Summit, Castro and Chinese President Jiang put forward a conception for the further development of Sino-Cuban relations from a strategic viewpoint, giving a strong push for the continuous development of bilateral ties in the new century, Tang said. Cuba is the first leg of Tang's four-nation Latin America tour, which will also take him to Mexico, Brazil and Chile. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |