Cuban President Raul Castro signs deals in China

[alp227]

Source: BBC

Cuban President Raul Castro is meeting Chinese leaders in Beijing, signing agreements aimed at deepening already close ties between the two allies.

Mr Castro is due to meet Vice-President Xi Jinping and Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who are widely expected to take over China's top leadership posts.

On Thursday he met President Hu Jintao and signed several co-operation deals.

China pledged to aid Cuba with a new credit line and with health care and technology.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-18732727

[Vidar]

1. Good for Castro.

[joshcryer]

2. It's only imperialism if the US does it.

[Judi Lynn]

3. What is imperialism? Might be more appropriate to explain. We're not mind-readers. n/t

[joshcryer]

4. the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation

China's continued extension of power in the global economy is, of course, OK. As well as Russia's. The US, however, is not allowed to do this under any circumstances.

For what it's worth I disavow it when any state does it. But oh well.

edit full definition:

the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas; broadly : the extension or imposition of power, authority, or influence

Imperialism is typically seen as an economic or political endeavor. In the case of a state like Cuba the refusal to economically trade is second to the political option to refuse to trade.

[Puzzledtraveller]

9. Thanks Josh, you said it very well.

[ronnie624]

12. Actually, that post is absurd.

The article refers to "a series of agreements between the two countries", not a relationship of dominance and submission. Claiming to find a parallel between China's role on the global stage and the voluminous history of U.S. imperialism is preposterous in the extreme. Surely upon further contemplation, that poster is embarrassed for posting such nonsense.

[Franker65]

5. Interesting

Maybe China can start importing cigars.

[madrchsod]

6. what the hell happened to the Monroe Doctrine?

we are letting another communist country into our sphere of influence!

we could be doing the same but there`s a few cowardly men in our government that control our cuban policy. maybe someday they will be brave enough drop the sanctions.

[R Merm]

7. Every one is doing business with Cuba but the US

We were there a few years ago, the hotels we stayed at were Spanish chains, the tour bus was Chinese, and even the Israelis had joint agricultural projects running with the Cubans.

[demosincebirth]

8. All because of the rich Cubans who exert political presure on our government.. I don't know why we

fall for it every time it comes up about opening relations with Cuba. The don't vote democrat anyway.

[Mr.Turnip]

10. Authoritarians seeking out Authoritarians.

[humblebum]

11. Sanctioning Cuba while giving favored nation status to China has always puzzled me.

[Judi Lynn]

13. Cuba As Seen On A New 'People-To-People' Tour (PHOTOS)

Cuba As Seen On A New 'People-To-People' Tour (PHOTOS)
AP | By KATHY WILLENS Posted: 07/06/2012 1:18 pm

HAVANA -- Girls dressed in ruffled layers for a quinceanera. American cars, from the Eisenhower era, in tropical colors. A hand-hewn carousel with peeling paint. Young fans cheering at a baseball game.

These are some of the scenes of everyday life I observed on a recent people-to-people tour of Cuba. These tours allow Americans to travel to Cuba as long as they go with a group licensed by the U.S. government to provide a "full-time schedule of educational activities." (The U.S. government forbids unrestricted travel to Cuba, but in addition to people-to-people tours, travel is permitted for certain other groups, including Americans with relatives there, religious organizations and academics.)

Most people-to-people trips have a themed itinerary like music or food. Some are offered by large travel companies, others by small nonprofits. I joined 21 artists, writers, filmmakers and photographers on a trip organized by a small group from Minnesota that traveled to four cities: Havana, Bayamo, colonial Holguin, and Santiago de Cuba, home of Cuba's historic summer carnival, birthplace of Cuban musical legends and gravesite of national hero Jose Marti.

People-to-people tours are not typical vacations. Structured itineraries include daily meetings with government-sponsored organizations and tours of schools and other institutions. Some meals were in dreary government cafeterias, but we also ate well in paladars, which are intimate restaurants in private homes. You're not supposed to spend the day at the beach the way Canadian and European tourists do, but we did get some free time, and occasionally participants ditched the schedule to explore on their own.

More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/06/cuba-as-seen-on-people-to-people_n_1654438.html?utm_hp_ref=travel#slide=1192978