Cuba-China: an everlasting friendship

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 2 (ACN) The ties forged between China and Cuba, their cultures and their peoples were the focus of a dialogue between Cuban former pilots and flight technicians who studied in the 1960s in the Asian nation and a delegation of the People’s Republic Air Force.

"China taught us both the art of flying and values such as comradeship and solidarity," recalled the Cuban reserve Col. Henry Pérez Martínez, whereas the Chinese First Colonel Li Hongpeng read a letter from Master Ma, one of the instructors of the course, recalling that the training took place from 1961 to 1963 at the Wusu airfield in the city of Taiyuan in Shanxi province with Yak-18 aircraft and remarking that it was a great honor to teach the Cubans and to be witness to the first flights manned by some young people from the Caribbean.

Huan Xin, Chinese ambassador to Cuba, expressed his deepest respect and admiration for those Cuban and Chinese soldiers, who consolidated their patriotic commitment and heroic values and contributed to strengthen and develop the special friendly relations between the two countries and peoples.

On his end, Brigadier General Mario Ernesto Rodriguez Peñaranda, head of the Anti-Aircraft Defense and Revolutionary Air Force, stressed that the endearing friendship between the Cuban and Chinese peoples, parties, governments and armed forces erases the geographical distance and stands as an exemplary relationship that lives on and grows steadily stronger.

He referred to September 2, 1960, when the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, announced the decision to establish diplomatic relations between Cuba and socialist China and the beginning of bilateral cooperation, a sample of which are the 243 Cuban troops who studied in China.

"Rest always completely assured that we will keep working tirelessly to nurture this special relationship with such solid and historic foundations between the armed forces of both countries in general and their air forces in particular. China and Cuba are worthy heirs of the revolutionary legacy of historic leaders Mao Tse Dong and Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz," the senior Cuban officer stressed.