Cuban leaders Fidel Castro and Raul Castro met Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Havana on Sunday, respectively, to discuss bilateral ties and traditional friendship.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (L) poses for photo with Fidel Castro, first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party's Central Committee, in Havana, capital of Cuba, on Aug. 1, 2010. [Xinhua Photo]

Fidel and Raul asked Yang to pass their greetings to Chinese President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders while Yang conveyed the good wishes of President Hu and other leaders to them.

Fidel, first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party's Central Committee, expressed his satisfaction with and happiness toward the smooth development of the Cuba-China friendly and cooperative ties over the past 50 years.

He said he hoped both sides would continue to make joint efforts to enrich the connotation of bilateral traditional friendship and lift bilateral ties to a new high.

Yang said that over the past 50 years, thanks to joint bilateral efforts, China-Cuba cooperation has yielded rich fruits in various areas.

He said China attaches great importance to its relations with Cuba, and is willing to work together with Cuba to continuously push forward their friendly ties.

Raul, president of the Cuban Council of State, said the Cuban party, government and people cherish their deep traditional friendship with China.

Cuba is energetically devoting itself to socialist economic construction and development, and to the continuous improvement of the people's living standards, he said, adding that Cuba hopes that the two countries could learn from each other.

Raul also expressed his hope that Cuba and China would continue to understand and support each other in international affairs, and continuously push forward bilateral ties.

Yang said China will always stick to the policy of developing China-Cuba longtime friendship, and will continue to support Cuba's just struggle to protect national sovereignty and oppose foreign interference.

He also said China is willing to make joint efforts with Cuba to push their mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation to a new high by taking the opportunity of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.

Cuba forged diplomatic relations with China on Sept. 28, 1960, and was the first Latin American country to do so.

Cuba was the third stop of Yang's four-nation tour, which lasts from July 25 to Aug. 4 and had taken him to Austria and Mexico. He will last visit Costa Rica.