First Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, meets with representatives of 70 companies from 15 provinces, regions, and municipalities in the Asian giant. He also meets with Wang Weizhong, Governor of Guangdong Province.

SHENZHEN, Guangdong.- The First Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, invited the business community of the Asian giant to continue building a Community of Shared Future between Cuba and China.

The Head of State met with representatives of 70 companies from 15 provinces, regions, and municipalities across the country this Friday in Shenzhen, where he arrived early in the morning from Beijing.

Díaz-Canel arrived in Guangdong province after participating, on Wednesday, in the Central Ceremony and Military Parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and exchanging, on Thursday, with the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jiping, among other important activities, including meetings with other senior leaders of the country and friends of solidarity.

In his remarks to representatives of the sister nation's businessmen and women, the Caribbean leader recalled the longstanding business relationship between the two countries, a relationship, he said, "that has gone through difficult times but has great prospects for consolidation."

During the talks, the President addressed the excellent state of bilateral ties, which he said are supported by interparty relations, which are the basis for their development in all areas, and the implementation of the consensus he has reached with his colleague Xi Jinping in the meetings they have held in recent years.

Consensuses that he summarized, echoing Xi Jinping's words, in perseverance in political exchange at the highest level; perseverance in economic and trade relations with a new approach; and perseverance in joint participation in addressing global issues and in certain global integration mechanisms.

And you, along with Cuban business leaders, are key players in the economic and trade relations between our countries, the Head of State stated.

Cuba-China: A community of shared future

The Cuban President's meeting with representatives of the Chinese business sector was attended by Political Bureau member and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, and Central Committee member and head of its International Relations Department, Emilio Lozada García.

Also participating were the Ministers of Foreign Trade and Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga; of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy; of Communications, Mayra Arevich Marín; and the Minister-President of the Central Bank of Cuba, Juana Lilia Delgado, among other members of the official delegation. The Cuban ambassador to China, Alberto Blanco Silva, moderated the exchange.

Minister Pérez-Oliva was in charge of the information portion of the meeting, during which he acknowledged "the prominent role that Chinese companies have played in the development of projects in Cuba and in the supply of various products, equipment, raw materials, food, and other items for key activities in the Cuban economy, as well as in the execution of significant donations as part of the aid offered by the Chinese government." Pérez-Oliva highly praised the progress made in creating a better business environment between both parties and highlighted some of the results achieved during the current stay of the First Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Republic in this nation.

The head of Mincex also explained that everything that has been achieved is "following the premise of government support, market guidance, and corporate leadership based on mutual benefit and shared profit."

At the end of his speech, Pérez Oliva invited Chinese business leaders to participate in the upcoming 42nd edition of the Havana International Fair, which will be held from November 24 to 29.

And finally, he stated that "Cuba's doors are open for Chinese companies to actively participate in Cuban socioeconomic development in the short, medium, and long term. This is essential," he affirmed, "to continue building the Community of Shared Future that our leaders have declared for the sustainable development and well-being of our countries and peoples."

Win-win business

Díaz-Canel praised the broad representation of economic and commercial sectors present, both from companies already operating in Cuba, which even have new proposals and new business modalities, he noted, and from others interested in doing so. This, the Head of State stated, "is a meeting that allows us to clarify doubts and take notes in order to immediately respond to a whole group of proposals you have made."

The president addressed concepts that should define bilateral economic and trade relations, including the need for new projects to emerge as sustainable business models of mutual interest, common benefit, and shared gains.

Guangdong: Land of friends, blood brothers

The First Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, accompanied by the official Cuban delegation, held a fraternal meeting this Friday afternoon with comrade Wang Weizhong, vice secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and governor of Guangdong.

In welcoming the people to Shenzhen province and municipality, the Cantonese leader recalled the symbolism of the location, the Wuzhou Hotel, where Army General Raúl Castro Ruz stayed during his stay in these parts, where the first special economic development zone was established as an experiment that would later be extended to other regions. He also recalled Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz's stay in Guangdong in 1995.

These are two milestones with which Wang highlighted the historical ties between Cuba and a Chinese province to which we share deep, blood-based ties. He recalled that some 170 years ago, the first Chinese arrived in Cuba, and most of them were from Canton. And now, Wang told Díaz-Canel, your visit demonstrates the attention and importance that Cuba and you pay to Guangdong.

The Governor of the province spoke fondly of his visit to Cuba last year, when—he commented—I met with comrade Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee, and authorities from Havana.

At the meeting, Wang Weizhong was accompanied by Meng Fanli, deputy secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPC and secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee, and other provincial and local officials.

The Cuban President thanked the Cantonese leader for the welcome to this beloved region and highlighted the important role this province and municipality have played in the economic and social development of the People's Republic of China.

Díaz-Canel explained that this visit to Shenzhen, in the context of his stay in China to participate in the celebrations for the 80th Anniversary of the Victory and the 65th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations, has allowed him to see the application and results of the reform initiated in this country more than 40 years ago as part of the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics, a process that is now developing based on the theoretical concepts of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President, Xi Jiping.

At the meeting, Governor Wang reviewed the economic and trade relations that Cuba maintains with this province, whose population exceeds 127 million inhabitants, although—he said—if we add the people from other regions who work and live here, we have about 160 million residents.

The Cantonese leader noted that trade between the island and Guangdong in 2024 exceeded one billion yuan, representing an 80 percent growth, and in the first seven months of 2025, a 41.6 percent increase has already been reported compared to the same period last year.

Wang Weizhong expressed the province's willingness to implement the consensus reached by Presidents Xi Jinping and Miguel Díaz-Canel and to "continue strengthening good relations and pragmatic cooperation."

To fulfill this commitment, he suggested that Díaz-Canel strengthen interparty exchanges of experiences at the grassroots level, both in cities and rural areas; and promote exchanges of experiences between the Mariel Special Development Zone and the province's two special development zones, particularly Shenzhen.

He also proposed strengthening economic, commercial, and industrial cooperation, with an emphasis on Chinese companies that already do business with the island, and promoting the participation of Cuban companies in the many fairs that Guangdong organizes each year.

The Governor also discussed the potential for developing clean energy, such as solar photovoltaic and wind power. He also referred to the strength of the Cuban biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, among the best in the world, and he said that we have between 20 and 30 highly interesting projects here in which we can collaborate.

Another sector of interest, he added, is tourism. Guangdong, he argued, is the province with the largest number of Chinese travelers abroad, and if you add Macau and Hong Kong, that's more than 74 million people who travel to this region each year. This is something, he explained, that tourism companies should take advantage of and come to showcase the beauty of Cuba, while we should also encourage Cubans to come here for tourism.