卡斯特罗访华 寻求增强古巴与中国关系

Cuban President Raul Castro is looking to strengthen the country's economic ties to Beijing as it moves to liberalize its economy somewhat and limit its energy dependence on Venezuela, whose leader is battling cancer and a tough election at home.

古巴国务委员会主席劳尔•卡斯特罗(Raul Castro)正寻求加强该国与北京的经贸往来。古巴不断采取措施，以期实现一定程度的经济自由化，减少其对委内瑞拉的能源依赖。身患癌症的委内瑞拉总统目前在国内正面临一场形势严峻的选举。

Mr. Castro landed in Beijing on Wednesday to meet with China's top leaders before heading out to Vietnam on Saturday, touring onetime Communist fellow travelers that have revamped their economies. On Thursday, Cuban representatives signed economic, technology and agricultural agreements with Chinese officials, though few specifics were disclosed.

卡斯特罗周三抵达北京，与中国高层领导人举行会谈，然后将于周六启程去越南，看望进行了经济改革的曾经的共产主义同路人。周四，古巴代表与中国官员签署了多项经济、科技和农业协议，但几乎未透露协议细节。

"Currently relations are maturing with each passing day," Mr. Castro said on Thursday in an appearance with China President Hu Jintao. "The relationship has passed the test of time."

卡斯特罗周四与中国国家主席胡锦涛会面时说，两国关系现在日趋成熟，已经通过了时间的考验。

Since 2011, Cuba has begun encouraging the formation of private enterprises, permitting property and automobile sales, and reducing the role of the state in agriculture. Still, the Cuban economy grew less than 3% in 2011, nowhere near the pace of Asian nations.

2011年以来，古巴就开始鼓励成立私营企业，允许进行房屋和汽车买卖，并减少政府在农业中发挥的作用。尽管如此，2011年古巴经济增长率仍不到3%，远不及亚洲国家。

Chinese technocrats and academics are working on a dozen projects to help remake the Cuban economy, including infrastructure, transportation and energy, said Xu Shicheng, a Cuba expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. While Cuba has made progress, "most importantly, there is a need to update the people's mentality," he said. "Many people in Cuba think that updating the private sector means adopting capitalism. It will take Cuba a long time to accomplish what China did."

中国社会科学院古巴问题专家徐世澄说，中国的专家型官员和学术人士正在忙于帮助重塑古巴经济的十多个项目，涉及基础设施、交通运输和能源等领域。他说，虽然古巴已经取得了进展，但最重要的是要改变人们的思维方式。徐世澄说，很多古巴人认为，升级私营部门就是搞资本主义，古巴需要很长时间才能实现中国取得的成就。

Mr. Castro's visit comes as China tries to make itself a major player in Latin American affairs. Already, China is a major destination for commodity imports from Brazil and Argentina, and is boosting investment in the region, especially in energy projects. It also has long been involved in a tug of war with Taiwan over diplomatic recognition by Central American and Caribbean countries, which play off Taipei against Beijing.

卡斯特罗访华正值中国努力将自己塑造为拉美事务主要参与者之际。中国已是巴西和阿根廷大宗商品的主要出口目的地，而且中国也正在增加对拉美地区特别是该地能源项目的投资。此外，长期以来中国大陆一直就在外交上获得中美洲和加勒比海国家的承认与台湾进行着争夺。中美洲和加勒比海国家挑动台北和北京相斗而坐收渔利。

The 81-year-old Raul Castro has further cemented ties to China. In June 2011, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who is expected to take China's top positions in the government and Communist Party by next year, visited Havana. The two countries have been working on projects in oil exploration, hotel construction, biotechnology and infrastructure.

今年已经81岁的劳尔•卡斯特罗进一步巩固了古巴与中国的关系。2011年6月，中国国家副主席习近平访问了哈瓦那。外界预计习近平在明年初之前将接掌中国共产党和中国政府的最高领导职务。中国和古巴一直在石油开采、酒店建设、生物技术和基础设施等项目上进行着合作。

"The big picture is that Cuba is still trying to get used to the idea of the "new China," which Fidel has long detested and Raul finds, well, intriguing," says Harvard University professor Jorge Dominguez, a Cuba expert.

哈佛大学(Harvard University)的古巴问题专家多明格斯(Jorge Dom口nguez)说，从整体上看，古巴依然在努力适应“新中国”这一概念。菲德尔长期以来对这个概念充满厌恶，但劳尔觉得它很吸引人。

This is Raúl Castro's third trip to China since 1997, said Mr. Xu, the Chinese expert. "What's different this time is his status. He is visiting as the No. 1 leader."

徐世澄说，这是劳尔1997年以来第三次访华。但这一次他的身份与以往不同，这是他首次作为古巴最高领导人访问中国。