Cuba and China ratify willingness to expand bilateral collaboration in 2021

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 25 (ACN) Carlos Miguel Pereira, Cuban Ambassador to China, and Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of Commerce of that Asian nation, held a meeting where both government representatives ratified their willingness to expand bilateral collaboration in various areas of common interest in the coming year.

During the exchange, held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing, the common will to work to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two nations and to promote the development of cooperation relations in the economic-commercial sector was ratified, said the Cuban diplomat on Facebook.

Pereira informed the Chinese leader about the new measures that the Cuban government will implement in 2021, within the framework of updating the economic and social model of the Caribbean island.

As part of the close ties between the two peoples, last December 3, the Cuban diplomat and the Minister of Science and Technology of China, Wang Zhigang, discussed the progress of bilateral cooperation, as well as the status of implementation of the agreements adopted in the 11th Joint Commission for Science and Technology, held in October 2019.

Likewise, on December 16th, Havana and Beijing signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the tourism sector, which lays the foundations for raising collaboration between the two countries to new levels.
This agreement will be valid for three years, with the possibility of being automatically renewed for the same period, and contemplates the promotion of initiatives to encourage collaboration between companies, institutions and tour operators from both countries, and the development of products that meet the needs of visitors.

Until the end of 2019, Cuba was the destination of 44,873 Chinese visitors, figure that was affected in 2020 due to the stoppage of tourism worldwide due to COVID-19, according to data by the National Office of Statistics of Cuba.

Beijing and Havana celebrated this year the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, based on brotherhood, friendship and respect.