Cuba's Foreign Policy After The Cold War Research

In the world today, Cuba is the only socialist country, surrounded by the Western capitalist countries, and is also a socialist country nearest from the US continent, which has been blocking and surrounding Cuba for quite a long period of time. As a socialist country which has a special revolutionary history, social structure and geopolitics, the development of Cuba's foreign policy has its own features and characteristics, which are different from other socialist countries. Cuba is willing to keep a friendly relationship with those countries which have different political, social and economical institutions, but respect Cuba's sovereignty and abide by the principle of coexistence. At the same time, Cuba has been persisting in keeping a relation of friendship, mutual help and cooperation with the socialist countries. Since its foundation 50 years ago, Cuba's road of development is dangerous and tortuous, but the Communist Party of Cuba and its people stick to the idea of socialism, seeking truth from facts, advancing with the times, and continuing to explore a course of development, suited to its national conditions.Since its success in revolution in 1959, Cuba has been suffering from the hostility of USA. The policy of hostility is the main pattern of America's foreign policy towards Cuba. USA has been persevering in the thought of Cold War and taking a foreign policy of hostility and blockade towards Cuba, from American double needs of self-interest and its anti-communist ideology, hoping to destroy the socialism in Cuba. Soon after its foundation, Cuba successively established diplomatic relations with USSR, PRC and other socialist countries, in order to seek for military shelter from socialist camp. Depending on USSR's military shelter, Cuba succeeded in dealing with the political and military pressure from USA, insuring its national safety.In the late 1980s and the early 1990s, a great change in the international situation happened. Cuba entered the stage of "The special peace phase" and met with the unprecedented difficulties in economy, politics and diplomacy since the founding of socialist regime .With the international environment worsening, America strengthened the blockade and peaceful evolution to Cuba, and attempted to overthrow Cuba socialist regime through various means .Even the Cuban people began to doubt the socialist road they had walked and lost the future confidence. Facing such a serious situation, Cuba's communist party was not defeated, but adopted active, pragmatic and flexible adjustment to break the American blockade, and tried to expand living space and improve the international environment and expand economic cooperation. At the same time, Cuba made great effort to develop relationships with EU, Canada and Japan, and made the back to Latin America, Latin American family as the important content of foreign policy. The Cuban government also paid special attention to continue to develop friendly relationship with China, Vietnam, and other socialist countries, and strengthened contact with the developing countries in Asia and Africa. In this period, Cuba actively explored the ruling strategies and tactics suiting for its national characteristics, adjusted policies and speeded the acceleration of reformation and opened wider to the outside world. Cuba's socialism lived through the test after the cold war, and showed more and more energy.Since Raul Castro was elected Chairman of the State Council of Cuba and Chairman of the Cuban Council of Ministers on February 24, 2008, and officially took over the Fidel Castro's 49 years ruling, Cuba's diplomatic reform was very active. Cuba paid attention to strengthening and enhancing the relationship with Venezuela, Brazil and other Latin American countries, and restored and improved the relationship with Mexico and the EU, and stretched the olive to American government. At the same time Cuba strengthened the relationship with Russia and further developed the relationship with China and other Asian and African countries.After 20 years of exploration, development and construction, Cuba's foreign policy has achieved a great success. The Cuban politics, economy, culture, military and foreign affairs, as well as other aspects have gained great progress, and maintained a good momentum recently. Although Cuba is a small country with a small population, its experiences and lessons in its foreign policy adjustment and the change after the cold war have great significance to other socialist countries. Cuba survived and developed under America's long-term blockade and sanction, which have direct significance for the other socialist countries in dealing with the relationship with the developed capitalist countries, especially the United States .Cuba's communist leaders have always been emphasizing the friendly relations with China, and learning from China's experience of reform and opening up actively. Likewise, the study of foreign policy reform and trends of Cuba after the cold war, also has certain practical significance for our country's foreign affairs and national construction.