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China–Cuba relations

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China–Cuba relations are the interstate relations between the People's Republic of China and Republic of Cuba. The origins of the relations began when the Qing dynasty established a consulate in Havana while Cuba was a still a colony of Spain in 1879. In 1902, the Qing dynasty recognized the independence of the Republic of Cuba from the United States, which had taken it from Spain in 1898. Cuba recognized the PRC in September 1960.

Sino-Cuban relations
Map indicating locations of Cuba and China

Cuba
China
Zhou Enlai greeting Che Guevara in February 1965. This is the second time that Che Guevara visited China, the first time being November 1960.

The relations are based on trade, credits, and investments, which have increased significantly since the 1990s. China is Cuba's second-largest trading partner after Venezuela. At a ceremonial trade gathering in Havana in early 2006, China's ambassador to Cuba said, "Our government has a firm position to develop trade co-operation between our countries. The policy, the orientation, has been determined. What's left is the work to complete our plans."[1] Although both Cuba and China are ruled by a communist party, they were on different sides during the Cold War, with Cuba being an ally of the Soviet Union, which China usually opposed following the Sino-Soviet Split.

China and Cuba experience good mutual relations, including through being members of the Belt and Road Initiative. China has partnered with Cuba to upgrade the rail network, host military facilities, and other initiatives.

Political and military relations

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In 1912, the Cuban government established relations with the Beiyang government of the Republic of China in Peking.[citation needed] This continued with Nationalist government in Nanking and Taipei after losing most of its territory. Both countries were allies in World War II. In 1960, post-revolutionary Cuba shifted recognition to the People's Republic of China.[2]: 137  It was the first Latin American country to recognize the PRC.[2]: 137 

The relationship between Cuba and China deteriorated during the Sino-Soviet split, in part because Cuba valued its need for Soviet oil more than its need for Chinese rice.[2]: 137  In 1979 and the following years, Cuba supported Vietnam in the Sino-Vietnamese War.[3]

Tensions between Cuba and China remained until the late 1980s.[2]: 137  In the late 1980s, Cuba's relationship with the Soviet Union became strained.[2]: 137  After the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, international relations were hampered.[2]: 137  A series of Cuban-Chinese state visits followed and relations improved.[2]: 137 

In the late 1990s, China provided the Cuban government with equipment to block signals from Radio Martí.[4] Chinese personnel have been operating two intelligence signal stations in Cuba since early 1999.[5] Bejucal hosts a signals intelligence listening station operated by the People's Liberation Army Third Department of the Joint Staff Department.[6][7][8][9]

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Hu Jintao visited Cuba in November 2004,[10] and followed by his successor, Xi Jinping, in July 2014.[11]

Cuba was one of 53 countries, that in June 2020, backed the Hong Kong national security law at the United Nations.[12]

In 2023, China and Cuba signed a bilateral cybersecurity agreement designed to prevent political subversion.[13] China subsequently invested US$100 million in Cuban cybersecurity.[13]

Commerce

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Che Guevara visiting China in 1965. To his left (on the right in the photo) is Deng Xiaoping.

After Cuba's 1960 recognition of the People's Republic of China, China became a major rice exporter to Cuba.[2]: 137  In 1966 during the Sino-Soviet Split, China reduced its rice export quota to Cuba.[2]: 137  The move increased diplomatic tensions, with Fidel Castro describing Mao Zedong as a senile idiot.[2]: 137 

As relations improved, China provided Cuba with interest-free credit for it to import home appliances in the early 2000s.[2]: 137  The two countries then established a joint venture for the assembly of household electronics in Havana.[2]: 137 

Bilateral trade between China and Cuba in 2005 totaled US$777 million, of which US$560 million were Chinese exports to Cuba.[14] Bilateral trade between China and Cuba in 2014 totaled US$1.6 billion. China is sending a growing amount of durable goods to Cuba. Chinese goods have become the primary tools both in the planned revitalization of Cuban transport infrastructure and in the Energy Revolution of 2006 to provide electricity to the Cuban population.

In 2010, China became Cuba's second-largest trading partner.[2]: 137 

Transportation

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As of mid-2006, Cuba had purchased 100 locomotives from China for US$130 million.[15][16]

As of early 2006, Cuba had signed a contract for 1,000 Chinese buses for urban and inter-provincial transportation.[17]

Refrigerators

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The Cuban government is replacing older appliances with newer, more energy-efficient models, including (as of early 2006) 30,000 Chinese refrigerators.[18]

Renewable energy

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China has been a key partner in the development of Cuba's domestic solar panel production.[19]: 118  It has provided Cuba with training, technology, and extended credit to Cuba to assist in this process.[19]: 118 

Investments

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Nickel

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As of 2004, China had agreed to planning to invest US$500 million in the completion and operation of Las Camariocas, an unfinished processing facility from the Soviet era. Under the agreement, Cubaníquel, the state-run nickel producer, owns 51 percent and Chinese-government owned Minmetals Corporation owns 49 percent. Financing for the project is from the China Development Bank, with Sinosure, the Chinese Export and Credit Insurance Corporation, providing guarantees.[20]

Oil

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SINOPEC, the Chinese state oil company, has an agreement with state-owned CUPET (Cuba Petroleum) to develop oil resources. As of mid-2008, SINOPEC had done some seismic testing for oil resources on the island of Cuba, but no drilling.[21] The company also has a contract for joint production in one of Cuba's offshore areas of high potential yield, off the coast of Pinar del Río,[22] but had done no off-shore drilling as of mid-2008.[21]

In November 2005, PetroChina Great Wall Drilling Co., Ltd. and CUPET held a ceremony for the signing of two drilling service contracts, to provide di;[23] Great Wall Drilling has provided drilling rigs for oil exploration on Cuba's north coast.

Biotechnology

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In December 2005, the two countries signed an agreement to develop biotech joint ventures within the next three to five years.[24] Two manufacturing plants using Cuban technology and processes, were operating in China as of early 2006.[25] As of 2020, Cuba's Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) had two joint ventures with China and its Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM) has three.[19]: 143  When China made its first monoclonal antibodies, it did so with Cuban technology.[19]: 143 

Other areas of cooperation

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China-Cuba Friendship Primary School Sanlihe [zh] Campus (三里河校区)
  • In 2004, China opened a local Confucius Institute in Havana.[citation needed]
  • Scientific and technical exchange and innovation in the industrial and agriculture sectors[26]
  • Cultural exchanges[27]
  • Medical, education and training exchanges[28]

Resident diplomatic missions

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Marc Frank, "Trade With China Primes Cuba's Engine for Change" Archived 2006-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, The Financial Times, 29 March 2006
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cederlöf, Gustav (2023). The Low-Carbon Contradiction: Energy Transition, Geopolitics, and the Infrastructural State in Cuba. Critical environments: nature, science, and politics. Oakland, California: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-39313-4.
  3. ^ DeYoung, Karen (1979-02-24). "Aroused Cuba Vows Support In Hanoi Fight". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  4. ^ "Those Men in Havana Are Now Chinese". The Wall Street Journal. 1999-07-30. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2024-07-04. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  5. ^ "China's electronic spy bases in Cuba" Archived 2008-01-26 at the Wayback Machine, China Reform Monitor, No. 487, March 3, 2003, American Foreign Policy Council
  6. ^ "America and China try to move past a new bump in relations". The Economist. June 9, 2023. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2024-06-07. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  7. ^ Sherwood, Dave; Spetalnick, Matt (2023-06-14). "Does secretive Cuba base host Chinese spy station? US thinks so". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  8. ^ Gámez Torres, Nora (June 8, 2023). "In bold move challenging the United States, Cuba agrees to host a Chinese spy base". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  9. ^ "Secret Signals: Decoding China's Intelligence Activities in Cuba". Center for Strategic and International Studies. July 1, 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-07-02. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  10. ^ "China's Hu boosts Cuba ties in first visit," Reuters, November 22, 2004
  11. ^ "When China met Cuba: Xi Jinping visits Havana," euronews, July 23, 2014
  12. ^ Lawler, Dave (2 July 2020). "The 53 countries supporting China's crackdown on Hong Kong". Axios. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  13. ^ a b Rinaldi, Jake (July 26, 2024). "Secrecy and Solidarity: PRC Internal Security Partnerships with Socialist States". Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
  14. ^ "Trade with China helps Cuba to move up a gear," Financial Times, March 8, 2006
  15. ^ Fidel Castro Public Address, May 1, 2006, cited in "China Cuba ties report from Cuba Transition Project" Archived 2019-05-11 at the Wayback Machine, Havana Journal, June 2, 2006
  16. ^ “12 Chinese locomotives arrive in Cuba,” People’s Daily, January 10, 2006
  17. ^ "Cuba to buy more vehicles from China," Granma Internacional, February 17, 2006
  18. ^ "Entrega empresa china primer lote de refrigeradores para Cuba," Granma Internacional, March 15, 2006
  19. ^ a b c d Yaffe, Helen (2020). We Are Cuba! How a Revolutionary People Have Survived in a Post-Soviet World (hardcover ed.). USA: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-23003-1.
  20. ^ "China edges out Western investors in Cuba nickel," Reuters, November 23, 2004
  21. ^ a b Erika Bolstad and Kevin G. Hall, "GOP claim about Chinese oil drilling off Cuba is untrue" Archived 2009-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, McClatchy Newspapers, June 11, 2008
  22. ^ "Firman Cuba y China contrato para producción compartida de petróleo," Granma Internacional, January 31, 2005
  23. ^ "PetroChina Great Wall Drilling Co. wins contracts in Cuba" Archived 2011-05-17 at the Wayback Machine, China Chemical Reporter, November 26, 2005
  24. ^ “Pacto biotecnológico de Cuba y China,” Office of Cuba Broadcasting, December 29, 2005, cited in "China Cuba ties report from Cuba Transition Project" Archived 2019-05-11 at the Wayback Machine, Havana Journal, June 2, 2006
  25. ^ "Cuban and Chinese Biotech have found pathways of mutual benefits" Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine, press release, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Havana, Cuba, January 20, 2006, retrieved June 13, 2008
  26. ^ "China and Cuba to Advance Cooperation in Agriculture | Scoop News". Scoop.co.nz. Archived from the original on 2016-10-02. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  27. ^ "China in Cuba Cultural Exchange". Havana Times.org. 2013-06-22. Archived from the original on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  28. ^ "Chinese doctors among 10,500 graduating in Cuba - Xinhua | English.news.cn". News.xinhuanet.com. 2013-06-28. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  29. ^ "Embassy of China in Havana". Archived from the original on 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  30. ^ "Embassy of Cuba in Beijing". Archived from the original on 2022-03-11. Retrieved 2021-06-03.

Further reading

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