| China's president begins stay in communist ally Cuba 04/13/2001 Associated Press HAVANA – Embraced by Fidel Castro upon his arrival, Chinese President Jiang Zemin started out on a warm note during his visit to Cuba, Beijing's only communist ally in the Western Hemisphere and a strong supporter during its diplomatic flap over a U.S. spy plane.
President Castro greeted a smiling Jiang at the steps of the Air China jet on Thursday afternoon. Neither president spoke with reporters before they left in a Mercedes sedan for an official greeting ceremony.
A written statement by Jiang that was distributed later to journalists did not mention the standoff that erupted between Beijing and Washington earlier this month after an American spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet collided over the South China Sea.
Instead, Jiang praised Cuba for being the first Latin American nation to establish diplomatic relations with communist China 41 years ago.
"The Chinese government attaches importance to its ties with Cuba, supports the just struggle of Cuba in maintaining state sovereignty and national independence and opposing against outside interference and threat," the presidential statement said.
Before leaving Brazil for Cuba on Thursday morning, Jiang made no comment on the end of the standoff with the United States.
China on Wednesday released the U.S. plane's crew, 11 days after their plane landed on Hainan island, but said it would hold the plane pending further talks.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported that while on a stop Wednesday in Montevideo, Uruguay, Jiang said, "The incident has not been fully settled."
The visit to Cuba was Jiang's second since assuming power in 1993. Castro last visited China in 1995.
Cuba, a former Soviet ally, began looking to China for help with its struggling economy after the Soviet collapse a decade ago.
Castro's brother and designated successor, Gen. Raul Castro, Cuba's defense minister, visited Beijing in 1997 and high-ranking Chinese military officials visited Cuba in December.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque last week praised China's economic success, saying its achievements "constitute proof of the potential and the advantages of socialism."
Trade between China and Cuba amounted to $314 million last year. Its most visible signs are the thousands of Chinese bicycles that circulate on the island.
Both nations are trying to line up support, especially in Latin America, just days before the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva is to vote on the rights records of China, Cuba and other countries.
In a statement on Jiang's visit to Cuba, the international group Human Rights Watch charged both governments with rights abuses, including arbitrary detentions and restrictions on freedom of expression.
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