Chinese President Hu Jintao starts a two-day state visit to Cuba on Monday, a move expected to add new impulse to bilateral cooperation in economic, political and other fields.

Hu's visit, at the invitation of his Cuban counterpart Fidel Castro, will be the fourth and final leg of his Latin American tour that also included Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

Cuba in 1960 became the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with China, and bilateral ties have been advancing over the past 10 years.

Bilateral ties were further promoted by a 2001 visit to Cuba by the then Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and a subsequent visit by Castro to Beijing in 2003.

At present, the Havana-Beijing ties are characterized by the mutual political support and understanding, with Cuba supporting the one-China principle and China rejecting the US-led blockade on the Caribbean island.

In the economic and trade aspects, the two countries have also witnessed sound development in cooperation.

China, one of Cuba's principal trading partners, imports tobacco, seafood, high-tech medical equipment and vaccines from Cuba, and exports electric appliances, machinery and other products to the island.

In the first nine months of this year, bilateral trade amounted to 493 million US dollars, surpassing the 357 million dollars in the same period of last year, according to Cuban Interior Minister Ricardo Cabrisas.

Meanwhile, China has granted Cuba an official tourist-route status, and the two sides have increased scientific and cultural exchanges.