China premier seeks new tack in ties with Cuba

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang  said it was time for a new direction in relations with Cuba, during a landmark visit to the Americas’ lone communist-ruled state. During the first visit by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic relations 56 years ago Li pledged to “inject a new dynamic in (bilateral) relations,” Cuban state media reported. Li met with President Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution, with the two communist countries signing about 30 co-operation agreements in a wide range of areas, including a protocol cancelling Cuban debts and four loan deals for projects on the island, according to local television.