China–Cuba relations

Sino-Cuban relations

Cuba	China

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.

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.

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]

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

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]

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

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

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]

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.

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

• 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]

• China has an embassy in Havana.^[29]
• Cuba has an embassy in Beijing and consulates-general in Guangzhou and Shanghai.^[30]

• Caribbean–China relations
• Sino-Latin America relations
• Chinese Cubans
• Belt and Road Initiative
• Foreign relations of Cuba
• Foreign relations of China

• Jiang Zemin, The Future of Socialism Remains as Bright as Ever, Excerpt from remarks to Fidel Castro (Selected Works, Vol I, p. 327-330)
• Hearn, Adrian H. (2012), China, Global Governance and the Future of Cuba, in: Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 41, 1, 155–179.
• Hearn, Adrian H. Cuba and China: Lessons and Opportunities for the United States Commissioned report for the CubaInfo Series; The Cuban Research Institute, Florida International University, June 2009z

• Chinese delegate Li Baodong praises Cuba's human rights record^{[permanent dead link‍]} during the review of Cuba by the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review, February 5, 2009