Cuban Prime Minister Arrived Shanghai, Becoming the First Foreign Leader to Attend China International Import Expo

On November 2, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz arrived in Shanghai, marking his first week-long visit to China since assuming office in 2019. Mr. Marrero is the first foreign political leader arrived Shanghai to attend the 6th China International Import Expo. During his visit, Mr. Marrero will have a series of meetings with Chinese political leaders on international issues.

China’s Foreign Ministry had expressed a warm welcome to the Cuban Premier ahead of his arrival. In a press briefing, China vowed to “deepen the special relationship” between the two countries, referring to the Premier as “Comrade Marrero”. This expression reflects the shared socialist ideology between China and Cuba.

Cuba established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1960, becoming the first country in the Western Hemisphere to recognize socialist China during the backdrop of the Cold War. In 2022, a joint statement was issued to “deepen China-Cuba relations in a new era.” In September 2023, Li Xi, one of China’s top officials, attended the “G77+China” Summit held in Havana, Cuba, demonstrating China’s steadfast support for the collective interests of developing countries.

China Announces Nuclear Talks with the US, First in Four Years

On November 2, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that China and the United States will hold director-general-level consultations on arms control and nuclear non-proliferation in D.C. next week. The Chinese delegation will be formed by officials from the Foreign Ministry’s arms control affairs department. According to previously agreed plans, China and the U.S. will engage in dialogues concerning the implementation of international arms control treaties.

These consultations were arranged during the visit of China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the US last week, marking the first China-U.S. nuclear non-proliferation talks in over four years. However, this does not imply the start of official nuclear negotiations between the two countries. “The number of China’s nuclear weapons is not on the same level as that of the US and Russia,” said China’s military analyst Song Zhongping. Chinese diplomats have repeatedly emphasized China’s position that it will not participate in the so-called “China-US-Russia Trilateral Arms Control Talks,” as the US has persistently proposed in recent years. This proposal is viewed as US maneuvering to limit China’s nuclear power and maintain its strategic advantage. In a statement made in 2020, China claimed that it would participate in nuclear disarmament negotiations “if the US is willing to reduce its nuclear capabilities to the level of China.”