Saturday, 14 April, 2001, 01:46 GMT 02:46 UK.
BBC News Online
China and Cuba have signed a number of agreements worth almost
four-hundred-million dollars in Chinese loans to the island.
The accords were signed in Havana in front of the Chinese president, Jiang
Zemin, after a state banquet given in his honour by Fidel Castro.
The credits will be used to modernise Cuba's telecommunications, build a
hotel and buy Chinese television sets.
In return, Cuba offered its support to China's bid to host the 2008 Olympic
Games in Beijing.
Mr Jiang is on the fifth leg of a tour of Latin America.
He travels on to Venezuela on Sunday.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service | 