Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla highlights the importance of cooperation at the China-CELAC forum amid a challenging global scenario
At the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum held in Beijing, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla stated that collaboration within this regional mechanism is “deeply relevant” in a global context characterized by the United States’ attempts to reshape the international system through pressure, threats, and unilateral measures that affect global political and trade relations.
The head of Cuban diplomacy, representing Cuba at this meeting that gathered foreign ministers and high-ranking leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighted that the China-CELAC Forum, established at the 2nd Summit in Havana in 2014, has evolved into an effective space to strengthen mutual cooperation and seek common development goals, consolidating itself as a mechanism with strategic and practical value in the region.
Rodríguez Parrilla emphasized that most Latin American and Caribbean countries maintain diplomatic relations with Beijing based on mutual respect and tangible benefits, in contrast to Washington’s actions, which promote trade wars, tariffs, and threats to economic projects that benefit China and other nations.
He also denounced the impact of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba, which has been intensified in recent years and accompanied by the arbitrary inclusion of the island on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, further aggravating its situation.
The Cuban Chancellor recalled that 2024 marks the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and China, considered an example of South-South cooperation, based on respect, sovereign equality, and complementarity. Among the joint achievements, he mentioned projects in biotechnology, renewable energy, and academic training of Cuban professionals in Chinese universities, which strengthen Cuba’s capabilities and consolidate a path of cooperation that challenges the interventionist policies of the United States.
The minister also referred to the initiatives of the Chinese government, particularly the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-CELAC Cooperation Plan 2022-2024, which have promoted high-impact socioeconomic projects in the region. He urged transforming words into concrete actions, with accessible financing and agile cooperation mechanisms, to build a fairer and more equitable world where development is a real and tangible right for all peoples.
Finally, he recalled the presence of regional leaders such as the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro; and the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, in a meeting that reaffirms the region’s commitment to a path of integration and sovereignty in the face of global threats.
