ICAP President Visits China

We must take our own road for the economic reform and seek the development model that suits us most，” said Kenia Serrano， President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples (ICAP)， during a visit to China.

Invited by the CPAFFC， she and her party visited Beijing， Shanghai and Ningxia in the latter part of September， 2011. They attended the 2011 China (Ningxia) International Investment and Trade Fair the Second China-Arab Economic Forum held in Yinchuan， visited the Shanghai Shipyard Company Ltd. which undertook the task of building ships for Cuba， and held a lecture meeting in Beijing Foreign Studies University.

China-Cuba Friendship Has a Long History

Cuba was the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with the PRC. Over the past 50 years since then， the friendly cooperation between the two countries has withstood the tests of rapid changes in the international situation. During a meeting， Hua Jianmin， Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， spoke highly of the profound friendship and all-round friendly cooperative relationship and expressed his admiration for the Cuban people’s indomitable revolutionary will. When talking about the series of economic reforms Cuba was implementing， he said he was convinced that， under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba， the cause of socialism on the island would surely succeed. He hoped that， while continuing to develop bilateral official relations soundly and in depth， people-to-people contacts would be further consolidated.

President Serrano said Cuba and China had adopted the same social system and helped each other to strive for common development. In the past 160 years， Chinese nationals in Cuba had made important contributions to the development of various sectors and exerted far-reaching influence in the country; hence the ties between the two countries were inseparable. She expressed her appreciation for China’s firm support for Cuba in major international issues.

Learn from China’s Experience in Reform

After the convening of the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba in April， 2011， a series of economic reforms were launched. During her visit， President Serrano talked about this， saying the reforms aimed to liberate productive forces， raise productivity and eventually improve people’s livelihood， while maintaining State macro-adjustment of the economy and persisting in socialism.

During her stay， she witnessed achievements in development scored by the big cities Beijing and Shanghai. At the Ningxia International Investment and Trade Fair， she came to know more about China’s foreign trade and contacts. In the ordinary farm fields in Liangtian Immigration Town of Jinfeng District， she saw how China was implementing measures to solve the problems facing agriculture， rural areas and farmers such as rural construction， converting certain cultivated land into forests， relocation of some villagers and construction of supplementary facilities， etc. She was amazed at China’s rapid social and economic progress， although observing that， “success is not achieved overnight”. She stressed that Cuba would further strengthen cooperation with China and learn from its experience.

She also noted how she had personally experienced Chinese people profound friendly feelings towards Cuba and got knowledge about the development situation in different areas， which made her more determined to further promote the friendship between the two countries. She hoped that her association would conduct multi-level and all-dimensional exchanges and enhance cooperation with the CPAFFC for common development.

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The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) was established in 1960. In 1988， it and the CPAFFC signed a friendship and cooperation program. Since then， the two organizations have conducted frequent personnel exchanges and their presidents have exchanged visits. Ms. Serrano is ICAP’s new president and also a deputy to the Cuban National Assembly of People’s Power and leader of both the International Relations Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and the Cuban Communist Youth League. This was her first visit to China since she became the ICAP President.

During her stay， the Cuban Embassy in China held the Cuba-China Friendship Medal conferring ceremony. The Cuba-China Friendship Medal， proposed by the ICAP and issued by the Council of State of Cuba， is conferred upon the personages who have for years made outstanding contributions to the cause of friendship between Cuba and China. Li Xiaolin， CPAFFC President， Chen Haosu， the 8th President of the CPAFFC， and Cheng Siwei， former Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and President of the China-Latin America Friendship Association， received the award.