Beijing, China.- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that the upcoming visit by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel will allow giving continuity to the path walked and making long-term plans in bilateral ties.

When welcoming the vice president of the Cuban Council of Ministers, Ricardo Cabrisas, the foreign minister assured that Chinese President Xi Jinping grants great importance to that visit, which is scheduled for early November.

Diaz-Canel will arrive in Beijing as part of his first tour of Asia and Europe since he took office in April 2018. He visited China in 2013 and 2015.

Wang noted China’s support for Cuba in its just struggle to defend national sovereignty, and described the cherished friendship between the two countries as indestructible, according to a communiqué from the Foreign Ministry. Cabrisas, in turn, thanked the Chinese Government for its invariable stance against the economic, commercial and financial blockade that the United States has imposed on Cuba for more than half a century.

He stressed that Cuba welcomes the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as its expansion to Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to the press release, during the meeting, both officials reviewed the development of bilateral relations and verified with satisfaction that the sustained exchange of high-level visits has fostered dialogue and mutual political trust.

Both Cabrisas and Wang agreed that relations between Cuba and China will continue to strengthen as an example of cooperation between two socialist countries on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefits.

The agenda of Cabrisas, who is also Cuba’s minister for Economy and Planning, also included talks on Thursday with the Trade minister and co-president of the Cuba-China Intergovernmental Commission for Economic and Commercial Relations, Zhong Shan, and executives from banking and insurance institutions and local companies.

That way, Cabrisas concluded a working visit to China that started on October 21.

China is Cuba’s second major trading partner, and bilateral trade amounted to two billion dollars in 2017.

On September 28, Beijing and China celebrated the 58th anniversary of uninterrupted diplomatic relations.