Xi congratulates Cuba's president on reelection

Bilateral ties hailed, support extended to Havana to follow development path

President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Thursday congratulated Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez on his reelection as Cuban president and vowed to work with him to enhance the political guidance of relations between the two countries and the ruling parties.

In a message to Diaz-Canel, who is also first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Xi said the China-Cuba relationship has maintained high-level development and is still making new progress.

He mentioned Diaz-Canel's successful state visit to China in November last year, saying the two leaders had reached important consensus at that time on constantly deepening the two countries' special and friendly ties in the new era.

Xi said he highly values developing China's relations with Cuba and is willing to keep close communication with Diaz-Canel, continue to strengthen political guidance over the party-to-party and state-to-state relations, and jointly build a China-Cuba community with a shared future.

Speaking at a regular news briefing in Beijing on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China believes that Cuba, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba and the new leadership, will make new and greater achievements in its cause of building prosperous and sustainable socialism.

He hailed the two countries as good friends that trust each other, good comrades that cherish the same aspirations, and good brothers that share weal and woe.

"China will, as always, support Cuba to follow a development path suitable for its national conditions. The Chinese side will work with the Cuban side to implement the consensus reached by the heads of state, continue to deepen political mutual trust, strengthen cooperation in all fields, build a community with a shared future, and keep bringing forward bilateral ties in the new era," Wang said.

Diaz-Canel was reelected for another five-year term on Wednesday during the opening session of the new parliament at Havana's Palace of Conventions. He won a landslide vote of 97.66 percent of the National Assembly.

Hailing from the central Cuban city of Santa Clara, Diaz-Canel is a career politician who quickly gained respect as a party stalwart from a young age.

The newly elected president thanked cheering lawmakers for their support in a televised speech.

"We must assume this gigantic challenge without slowing down," said Diaz-Canel, 62, reaffirming his administration's commitment to the Cuban Revolution.

"The government must focus on increasing the national production of food and the flow of hard currencies to the country as well as on improving the performance of the state-operated socialist enterprises."

Paramount priorities

Diaz-Canel added that fighting inflation and promoting foreign investment are paramount priorities for the Cuban economy.

On Wednesday, he also blamed the United States and its Cold Warera embargo for Cuba's woes, encouraging "continuity" and "creative resistance" to keep the revolution afloat even as tensions flare among its populace.

"This forces us to work harder and better, to respond to our people. I'm sure we'll get good results," Diaz-Canel said.

Also on Wednesday, Cuban lawmakers reelected Salvador Valdes as vice-president of the Caribbean nation and Esteban Lazo as president of Cuba's National Assembly of People's Power.

Manuel Marrero was reappointed Cuba's prime minister at the proposal of the Cuban president.