Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
July 15, 2014
Translated by Charles McKelvey
Professor Emeritus, Presbyterian College, Clinton, South Carolina
Section on Political Science from the South, Division of Philosophy and History, University of Havana - Havana, Cuba
Global Learning, LLC - http://www.globallearning-cuba.com
Xi Jinping was born on June 15, 1953 in Beijing, China. He became a member of the Communist Youth League in 1971 and a member of the Communist Party of China in 1974. From 1975 to 1979, he studied at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, receiving a degree in Chemical Engineering. From 1979 to 1982, he worked as secretary to the Secretary-General of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China. From 1982 to 2007, he held various positions in the party and the government in the provinces of Hebei, Fujian and Zhejiang, including governor of Fujian from 1992 to 2002 and acting governor of Zhejiang in 2002 and 2003. He was elected Vice-President of the People’s Republic of China in 2008, serving until 2013, during which time he was groomed to succeed Hu Jintao. During his service as Vice-President, he made a number of international trips, including visits to the United States, Russia, and several Latin American and Caribbean countries. He was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on November 15, 2012, and he was elected President of the People’s Republic of China on March 14, 2013 by the Twelfth National People’s Congress, becoming the fifth president under the 1982 Constitution and the sixth Paramount Leader of the People’s Republic of China since the triumph of the Chinese Revolution in 1949.
In July 2014, Xi Jinping traveled to Latin America in order to participate in the VI Summit of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in the Brazilian City of Fortaleza and in a meeting with heads of state of the countries of Latin American and the Caribbean for the purpose of formally establishing the China-CELAC Forum (CELAC refers to Community of Latin American and Caribbean States; see “The Declaration of Havana 2014” 3/14/2014). The Chinese president also made official visits to Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba. On the occasion of his trip to Latin America, Xi responded to questions from journalists representing Valor Económico (Brazil), La Nación (Argentina), the Venezuelan News Agency, and the Latin American international news agency Prensa Latina (Cuba). The questions of the journalists and Xi’s responses were published in Granma, the official organ of the Communist Party of Cuba, which serves as the daily newspaper in Cuba, on July 15, 2014, under the title “Long distance does not weaken close friendship.” His responses are below, translated from Spanish into English.
For commentaries related to the China-CELAC Forum and China’s support for South-South cooperation, see “The fall & rise of South-South cooperation” 7/24/2014; “China-CELAC cooperation” 7/25/2014; “China treats Latin America with respect” 7/28/2014; “BRICS advances to South-South cooperation” 7/29/2014; and “The BRICS Bank of Development” 7/30/2014.
Note: The comments of the Chinese President are listed under subtopics that were established by the questions of the journalists.
BRICS
“Mutual political trust among the member countries of the bloc is increasing constantly.”
During the last five years, under the direction of the Summit of Leaders, a plan of cooperation covering many areas has been established. Mutual political trust among the member countries of the bloc is increasing constantly, such that fundamental cooperation with respect to the economy, finance, commerce and development are continually deepening, and communication and coordination with respect to important international issues are continually increasing.
