China Sees Cuba as Reliable Partner

HAVANA TIMES, Nov. 18.- Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Havana Monday night to begin an official 2-day visit. He is accompanied by Commerce Minister Chen Deming and a large number of business executives.

China sees Cuba as a key partner in its Latin American relations, holding similar ideological leanings with much room for mutually beneficial exchange.

The Chinese leader will be meeting with President Raul Castro and other top Cuban officials. Hu is on his second visit to the island since taking office in 2004.

China is currently Cuba’s second leading trade partner after Venezuela and the exchange is helping to modernize the island’s transportation system and home appliances.

Cuba has a special Spanish language school on the outskirts of Havana where over a thousand Chinese have taken intensive courses. The facility helped China to provide Spanish language services during the recent Beijing Olympic Games.