President Hu Jintao on Tuesday sent a message of good wishes to Cuban leader Fidel Castro following his operation to treat an acute intestinal problem.

 

On behalf of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese government, the Chinese people and himself, Hu, also General Secretary of the CPC's Central Committee, offered his sincere condolence to Castro and wished him a quick recovery.

 

Castro said in a statement on Monday that the intense agenda of a recent trip to Argentina had "caused an acute intestinal problem, with sustained bleeding, which forced me to undergo a complex surgical operation."

 

The Cuban leader said in the statement, which was read out by his secretary Carlos Valenciaga on the state television, that he would be "out of power for several weeks" and had temporarily handed the presidency and the post as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba to his younger brother Raul Castro, who is the country's defense minister.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2006)