WORKING TOGETHER: Mario Arbelo (center), Chairman of the Association of Cuban Residents in China, attends an annual conference of the association on November 12 at the Cuban Embassy in Beijing, along with Cuba's Ambassador to China Alberto Blanco Silva (left) (COURTESY OF THE CUBAN EMBASSY)

Ordinary Cubans living and working in China can play an important role in cementing bonds between the two countries, said Mario Arbelo, Chairman of the Association of Cuban Residents in China, otherwise known as "Ernesto Ché Guevara."

The organization, founded in 2008, consists of nearly 150 members across China. It aims to introduce Cuba's culture as well as its political and social developments to the Chinese by holding movie festivals, performances and other activities.

"None of our members are government employees," Arbelo told Beijing Review after the association's annual gathering at the Cuban Embassy in Beijing on November 12. "We have established the association to support Cuban revolution, and Cuban identity and culture in China."

The Cuban expats' association is named "Ernesto Ché Guevara" in honor of the Latin American revolutionary who played a key role in the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

In recent years, Cuba has been committed to the "actualization of the economic and social model which Cubans support in regards to defend the continuity of socialism and the triumphs of the Cuban Revolution," Arbelo said.

Arbelo said the Cuban Government has taken two crucial measures since the beginning of this year. In September, it legalized the sale and purchase of cars for citizens, and two months later, a new property law took effect, allowing Cubans to buy and sell their homes.