China pledges US$100 million to Cuba as President Miguel Diaz-Canel concludes visit

China has donated US$100 million to Cuba to help it survive a crippling economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, the island nation's Deputy Prime Minister Alejandro Gil said Saturday.

The donation came as Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel concluded a visit to China, part of a rare foreign trip.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Diaz-Canel met on Friday and "the offer arose of a donation of around US$100 million by China," Gil told Cuban state television.

Gil, who is also Cuba's economy minister, said the money would go toward "priorities" on the island, which has been rocked by its worst economic crisis in three decades.

Diaz-Canel concluded his visit to China later Friday and continued on a global tour designed to gain support for Cuba in renovating an electrical system.

China is Cuba's second biggest trade partner after Venezuela.

Earlier on his trip, Diaz-Canel visited Algeria, where President Abdelmadjid Tebboune promised to ship fuel to Cuba, donate a photovoltaic power plant and cancel interest on debts, Gil said.

Diaz-Canel's trip was also to include stops in Turkey and Russia.