Havana, Oct 2 (RHC) The deep ties of friendship between Cuba and China were highlighted on Tuesday during a political-cultural gala marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Asian nation.

Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, and president Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez were in attendance, as well as other high ranking party and government officials.

The ceremony held Havana also brought together representatives of the Chinese embassy on the island, students from that country and members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Cuba.

Chinese Ambassador Chen Xi described the ceremony as a new demonstration of the highest attention Cuba gives to the friendship between the two countries and the deep fraternal sentiment of the Cuban people towards the Chinese people.

The diplomat conveyed the gratitude of the Chinese President, Xi Jinpin, to Raúl and Díaz-Canel, in response to their messages of congratulations on the occasion of the founding date of the People's Republic of China.

At the ceremony, Cuban vice president, Salvador Valdés Mesa, praised China´s achievements in its economy, food industry, education and other areas, and noted that “China is no longer the poor and backward country it was 70 years ago."

"Cuba salutes and appreciates the rise of a socialist and prosperous China, an event of great importance for developing nations and all of Latin America and the Caribbean," he said, while evoking the words of Commander in Chief, Fidel Castro Ruz, who said that that country had to be taken into account when development was discussed.