Havana, January 18 (RHC)-- Cuban First Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel has welcomed the Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, Chen Changzhi, who is paying an official visit to the Caribbean island.

During the meeting on Friday, both leaders discussed Cuba and China's social and economic realities and praised the warm and brotherly climate that characterizes the bilateral relations between the two countries and governments.

Also on Friday, the Chinese official met with Cuba's National Assembly President Esteban Lazo. On that occasion Chen said that his country has been keenly following Cuba's current economic "modernization" drive, and hoping it progresses successfully.

Both Cuba and China, as their governments have been founded on socialist principles, should maintain bilateral ties at the highest level so as to increasingly consolidate their mutual trust, Chen stressed.

Chen and Lazo also ratified "the friendship that has united the two countries for many years, transcending the test of time."

For his part, Lazo said Cuba considered its ties with China to be of a "priority and strategic" character. Lazo, also a member of the politburo of Cuban Communist Party, urged the continuation of regular contact and exchange between the two parties, governments and parliaments.

China is Cuba's second largest trading partner after Venezuela. According to the visit's agenda, the Chinese lawmakers will visit places of cultural and historical relevance, as well as Cuban health centers.