HispanicBusiness

Cuban leader Raul Castro left here on Sunday for official visits to China and Vietnam, the official Granma daily said Monday morning.

Castro, president of Cuba's Council of State and the Council of Ministers, will pay a state visit to China on 4-7 July, the first one since he took office in 2008.

Vice President of the State Council Ricardo Cabrisas and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez were also a part of the Cuban delegation, according to Granma.

Cuba and China established diplomatic relations on 28 September 1960. Cuba was one of the first Latin American countries to recognize China, and both nations have maintained friendly ties based on cooperation and mutual solidarity.

Beijing is Havana's second largest trading partner with their trade volume reaching about 1 billion dollars in 2010, according to official figures.

Cuba and Vietnam established diplomatic ties in 1960. Havana and Hanoi have supported each other on international occasions, and bilateral trade reached 269 million dollars in 2010.

Castro has been committed to an agenda of undergoing economic reforms to improve the economic model, which is partially based on the experiences of China and Vietnam in the past decades.