(December 31, 1965)
Havana

Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and Prime Minister of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba,

Comrade Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado, President of the Republic of Cuba:

On the occasion of the seventh anniversary of Cuba’s liberation, on behalf of the Chinese people, the Communist Party of China, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, we extend our warmest congratulations to the Cuban people, the Communist Party of Cuba, and the Revolutionary Government of Cuba.

The victory of the Cuban Revolution is the result of the Cuban people’s unity, arduous struggle, and heroic resistance; it represents a shameful defeat for U.S. imperialism. It has demonstrated that the strength of revolutionary peoples is invincible. We wish the brave Cuban people new successes in their cause of opposing U.S. imperialism, safeguarding national independence, and building their own country.

The peoples of China and Cuba enjoy a profound friendship. This friendship was forged in the common struggle against U.S. imperialism and is based on the principles of Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism; no force can ever destroy it. In our shared fight against U.S. imperialism, for world peace, and to advance human progress, the Chinese people will always stand in solidarity with our brotherly Cuban people and move forward together.

We wish that the fighting friendship between the Chinese and Cuban peoples may endure forever.

Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Liu Shaoqi, President of the People’s Republic of China
Zhu De, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China
Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China

December 31, 1965