China's President Hu Jintao (left) waves as Cuba's President, Raul Castro (right), walks with him during his departure from the airport in Havana, yesterday. Jintao is to travel to Peru to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Summit. - AP

HAVANA, Cuba (AP):

China's president signed trade deals with communist ally Cuba and agreed to help it modernise its ports and hospitals on Tuesday, as part of a Latin America trip on which Chinese businessmen have been snapping up raw materials.

Taking the long view at a time of financial crisis, China is investing heavily in commodity-producing countries, and Cuba is no exception. More than a dozen deals agreed to by President Hu Jintao included purchases of Cuban nickel and sugar, along with pledges to send food and building materials to help the Caribbean nation recover from three major hurricanes.

Renovate

Hu signed off on a second $70-million phase of $350 million in Chinese credit to renovate Cuban hospitals. China also committed to help renovate Cuba's crucial, but ageing, ports.

It was unclear how many of the deals were on credit. Havana has already borrowed extensively from Beijing - loans it might have trouble repaying as it recovers from hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Paloma, all of which hit Cuba this year.

Hu thanked Cuba for sending doctors to China after last year's devastating earthquake and for educational programmes on the island attended by about 2,000 Chinese, including medical students.

China's president also met with ailing former President Fidel Castro. Cuba released a photo of the pair shaking hands and chatting. Hu wore a business suit and the former Cuban president had on exercise clothing that has become his standard uniform since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery and disappearing from public view in July 2006.