Raúl Castro Visits Comrades in China and Vietnam

Cuba’s President Raúl Castro visited China and Vietnam from July 4 to July 11, seeking to shore up political and economic support from Cuba’s two old Communist allies. The Cuban leader spent four days in each country, reliving Cold War memories, observing economic changes, and signing a number of investment and cooperation agreements. Some analysts also say the trip’s motive is to seek a “life raft” should Cuba lose Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s sponsorship in the future. The trip is Castro’s first to the region since taking over presidential duties from his brother Fidel in 2008.

China, Cuba, and Vietnam are some of the world’s last-remaining Communist countries and share important ideological ties dating from the Cold War. Chinese officials warmly recalled, for instance, that Cuba was the first country in Latin America to recognize Communist China in 1960. That relationship strengthened with the fall of the Soviet Union. China is now a major investor in Cuba, and its second-largest trading partner after Venezuela, with bilateral trade reaching $1.9 billion in 2010. Vietnam is Cuba’s second-largest Asian trade associate, and its premier supplier of rice—a staple on the island. Vietnamese state oil company Petro-Vietnam is also currently involved in oil exploration activities in the Cuban portion of the Gulf of Mexico.

The trip is especially important in Cuba’s drive to seek new sponsors, given the country’s outsized dependence on Chávez’s Venezuela. Chávez’s continued undisclosed illness, a competitive presidential election this year in Venezuela, and declining oil prices all call the future of Venezuelan largesse to Cuba into question. “Cuba needs to try to manage what happens if there is a change in government in Caracas tomorrow, either by the death of Chávez or by Chávez losing the election," Cuba energy expert Jorge Piñón told The Wall Street Journal. “China would make an important long-term strategic partner for Cuba.”

To that end, Castro sought to increase investment and cooperation agreements during the trip. In total, Castro secured eight cooperation accords from China, a number of interest-free loans, and a credit line of an undisclosed amount from the China Development Bank to improve sanitation in Cuba. Cuban and Vietnamese officials meanwhile committed to holding annual diplomatic meetings and coordinating joint positions in international forums.

The visit could also be a learning experience for Cubans hoping to reform the island’s economy. Both China and Vietnam undertook market friendly reforms in the late 1980s, resulting in enviable GDP growth of around 10 percent in 2011. Meanwhile, Cuba’s economy lagged, growing less than 3 percent in 2011—far behind the country’s Asian allies. Castro promised to institute a “China model” in Cuba upon taking office in 2008, but reforms have been slow and cautious. “Cuba’s key concern is finding a model that will allow it to move beyond the survival phase,” says the Havana Times. A Vietnamese newspaper, Tien Phong, published an editorial coinciding with Raúl’s visit critiquing the “rigidity” of the Cuban economy, reports Diario de Cuba. The paper said Cuba could learn much from Vietnam’s example, urging them to take “strong measures to break a model that has proven to be stiff, and without economic efficiency.”

On July 10, the Cuban government announced that Castro would conclude his trip abroad with a two-day stop in Russia. The leader is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in a trip “which will include an homage to the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution Vladimir Lenin,” reports Prensa Latina.

Learn More:

• Read an AS/COA Online News Analysis about Vietnam’s growing economic presence in Latin America.
• Read a detailed description, see pictures, and watch video of Raúl Castro’s visit to China and Vietnam from Cuban press blog Cubadebate.
• Learn more about Cuba’s efforts to improve relations with China in The Wall Street Journal.