A 16-year-old Peruvian girl on Thursday shared the exciting moment of greeting Chinese President Xi Jinping with flowers after he arrived in Lima, Peru earlier in the same day for a state visit to the country.
Xi flew in earlier Thursday to pay a state visit to Peru and attend the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Lima, the Peruvian capital city.
Upon Xi's arrival at the airport in Lima, Adriana, the girl, joined the welcoming crowd to greet Xi.
"I am really grateful for this opportunity, for this honor. I think that this will be a very good honored time," said Adriana.
Adriana said that she once went to China to learn Chinese dance and would like to visit China again in the future.
"We were invited to China because we were to dance with Chinese dancers and also our hope. So we went to practice more about that," said Adriana.
"I like Chinese culture, because I think that it has many aspects and also because everything like the food and places that I went when I went to China, and also the people because I think they are really lovely," she said.
"I really would like to come back. I always say to my friends and my family that I would like to travel there again in the future, because I want to know more cities," she added.
When being asked what she would speak to President Xi if she had the chance, Adriana smiled and said, "In my language, maybe like, 'I am very grateful that you all have come to Peru. Everyone is opening their arms, awaiting your arrival." And in Chinese, like 'Welcome.'"
Peruvian girl shares exciting moment of greeting President Xi with flowers
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Sunday said Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump's accusations that the island country provided "security services" to Venezuela in exchange for oil.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump suggested Cuba should make a deal with Washington.
"There will be no more oil or money going to Cuba -- Zero! I strongly suggest they make a deal, before it is too late," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
"Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of oil and money from Venezuela," Trump said.
However, Trump did not specify the terms of a deal or the consequences Cuba could face.
Diaz-Canel said on X that the United States has "no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba in anything", adding that the U.S. side turns everything, even human lives, into a business.
Diaz-Canel said that the United States is "hysterical" against the Caribbean nation because of the sovereign decision of the Cuban people to choose their political model.
"Those who blame the Revolution for the severe economic hardships we suffer should be ashamed and keep quiet," he said. "Because they know and recognize that they are the result of the draconian measures of extreme asphyxiation that the United States has imposed on us for six decades."
Cuba does not attack or threaten other countries, said Diaz-Canel, adding that the country is ready to defend itself "to the last drop of blood".
Also on Sunday, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the United States behaves like a criminal and unchecked hegemon that threatens peace and security, not only in Cuba and this hemisphere, but throughout the entire world.
In an X post, Rodriguez said Cuba has the absolute right to import fuel from markets willing to export it and develop trade relations without interference or subordination to unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States.
Venezuela on Sunday reiterated its "historic stance" toward Cuba, reaffirming its unwavering commitment to the principles of "fraternity, solidarity, cooperation and complementarity", despite mounting pressure from Washington to isolate the Caribbean nation.
The Venezuelan government released a statement underscoring its support for the free exercise of self-determination and sovereignty of peoples, which it considers fundamental pillars of international relations.
It emphasized its adherence to the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and international law, highlighting the longstanding and evolving ties between Venezuela and Cuba.
The Venezuelan government stressed that relations between states should be governed by the principles of non-intervention, sovereign equality and self-determination, and that "political and diplomatic dialogue" is the only viable path to "peacefully resolve disputes of any kind".
Cuban president says ready to defend Cuba, refutes Trump's accusations
