卡斯特羅訪華 尋求增強古巴與中國關係

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.

古巴國務委員會主席勞爾•卡斯特羅(Raul Castro)正尋求加強該國與北京的經貿往來。古巴不斷採取措施，以期實現一定程度的經濟自由化，減少其對委內瑞拉的能源依賴。身患癌症的委內瑞拉總統目前在國內正面臨一場形勢嚴峻的選舉。

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.

卡斯特羅週三抵達北京，與中國高層領導人舉行會談，然後將於週六啓程去越南，看望進行了經濟改革的曾經的共產主義同路人。週四，古巴代表與中國官員簽署了多項經濟、科技和農業協議，但幾乎未透露協議細節。

"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."

卡斯特羅週四與中國國家主席胡錦濤會面時說，兩國關係現在日趨成熟，已經通過了時間的考驗。

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年以來，古巴就開始鼓勵成立私營企業，允許進行房屋和汽車買賣，並減少政府在農業中發揮的作用。儘管如此，2011年古巴經濟增長率仍不到3%，遠不及亞洲國家。

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."

中國社會科學院古巴問題專家徐世澄說，中國的專家型官員和學術人士正在忙於幫助重塑古巴經濟的十多個項目，涉及基礎設施、交通運輸和能源等領域。他說，雖然古巴已經取得了進展，但最重要的是要改變人們的思維方式。徐世澄說，很多古巴人認爲，升級私營部門就是搞資本主義，古巴需要很長時間才能實現中國取得的成就。

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.

卡斯特羅訪華正值中國努力將自己塑造爲拉美事務主要參與者之際。中國已是巴西和阿根廷大宗商品的主要出口目的地，而且中國也正在增加對拉美地區特別是該地能源項目的投資。此外，長期以來中國大陸一直就在外交上獲得中美洲和加勒比海國家的承認與臺灣進行着爭奪。中美洲和加勒比海國家挑動臺北和北京相鬥而坐收漁利。

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.

今年已經81歲的勞爾•卡斯特羅進一步鞏固了古巴與中國的關係。2011年6月，中國國家副主席習近平訪問了哈瓦那。外界預計習近平在明年初之前將接掌中國共產黨和中國政府的最高領導職務。中國和古巴一直在石油開採、酒店建設、生物技術和基礎設施等項目上進行着合作。

"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.

哈佛大學(Harvard University)的古巴問題專家多明格斯(Jorge Dom口nguez)說，從整體上看，古巴依然在努力適應“新中國”這一概念。菲德爾長期以來對這個概念充滿厭惡，但勞爾覺得它很吸引人。

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."

徐世澄說，這是勞爾1997年以來第三次訪華。但這一次他的身份與以往不同，這是他首次作爲古巴最高領導人訪問中國。