HAVANA, Cuba.- Bilateral strategic cooperation between China and Cuba have kept at its highest level, which was proven with the signing of several accords during the recent visit to Beijing by Cuban President Raul Castro, said division general Jose A. Carrillo, chief of the Political Staff of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces.

General Carrillo made his statements during a ceremony at the Armed Forces’ Sala Universal theater marking the 85th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army of China, in which he stressed the historic ties of friendship that have linked both nations since the arrival in Cuba of the first Chinese citizens, many of whom joined Cuba’s liberation struggle up to the most recent times.

The People’s Liberation Army of China was officially established August 1, 1927.

China’s military attaché in Havana, colonel Wang Chianlian, recalled that the People’s Liberation Army has played a key role in the history of China, during imperialist aggressions of the Asian country and in defense of the socialist principles during over 30 years of reforms.

Following the birth of what he called the new China, the People’s Liberation Army has also defended regional and international stability by supporting peaceful dialog with no foreign intervention as the solution to internal and bilateral conflicts.

The ceremony was presided over by the member of the Political Bureau of Cuba’s Communist Party, Hero of the Republic of Cuba, first deputy minister of the Armed Forces and chief of staff, army corps general Alvaro Lopez Miera.

Also attending were China’s ambassador to Havana Zhang Tuo, as well as military chiefs, officers and civil workers of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Interior Ministry, as well as representatives of the Cuban Foreign Ministry and the diplomatic community accredited on the island.