Cuba's repayment of debt deferred

HAVANA: Visiting President Hu Jintao agreed on Tuesday to defer some of Cuba's loan repayments and made an $80-million donation toward its hospital modernization program, Reuters reported yesterday.

Hu's visit to Havana, which included a meeting with former leader Fidel Castro, is indicative of China's growing ties with Cuba and provided an opportunity for China to give aid to the island, which has been battered by three hurricanes and the global economic crisis.

The two countries signed accords that put off for 10 years payments for an unspecified trade debt Cuba accumulated in 1995, and for five years a $7.2 million line of credit China granted in 1998, Reuters said.