Chinese foreign minister starts Latin America tour

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Cuba Sunday, the first stop on a tour of four Latin America countries.

The purpose of the stop in Havana was to pave the way later this year for a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“We are going to be working on political preparations for … the upcoming visit of President Xi Jinping to this island,” Wang said.

China is Cuba’s number two economic partner after Venezuela. Beijing also is a critical source of financing for the Americas’ only Communist-run nation, which is cash-strapped and cannot get financing from most lenders.

The top Chinese diplomat was due to stroll around Spanish-colonial era Old Havana later, and sources said a meeting with President Raul Castro looked like a possibility before Wang heads to Caracas.