China pledges to ‘firmly support’ Cuba as US escalates pressure on Havana

China pledged to steadfastly back Cuba as the United States intensifies pressure on Havana, a foreign ministry spokesman declared on Monday during a routine briefing in Beijing. The remarks came on the 66th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations. Guo Jiakun, the spokesman, asserted that regardless of how international conditions change, China would resolutely support Cuba in pursuing its desired path of socialist development and in defending its sovereignty against external interference.

Cuba acknowledged China's founding in September 1960, marking it as the inaugural Latin American country to do so.

Over the past few years, China and Cuba have collectively advanced a "community with a shared future," as highlighted by Guo. Guo refrained from disclosing fresh aid or naming the United States, adopting a more diplomatic tone compared to Beijing's outspoken stance at the United Nations the previous weekend. At the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Vice-President Han Zheng called upon "the relevant country" to cease threatening Cuba with force and lift the blockade and sanctions entirely.

This statement followed US President Donald Trump's claim at the same forum that his administration aimed for "a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba," a remark that prompted the Cuban delegation to abruptly exit the hall. Tensions have escalated since January, when the United States severed ties with Venezuela over its oil supply following the capture of its leader, Nicolas Maduro.

Subsequently, Trump signed an executive order labeling Cuba as an "unusual and extraordinary threat." Recently, the US State Department sanctioned five state-run companies in the energy, mining, and financial domains, as well as a relative of former Cuban leader Raul Castro. This heightened pressure has strained Cuba's power grid, culminating in a grid failure earlier this month that left millions in the dark.

Tourist arrivals plummeted by 62 percent year on year in the first seven months, according to official figures. On Friday, CBS News reported that the US Army Reserve was evaluating the possibility of deploying military police, medical personnel, and other troops to US Southern Command within four months, though the internal Army communication did not explicitly name Cuba.

US officials confirmed to CBS that the planning was targeted at Cuba. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is spearheading talks with Havana, stated last week that Cuba presented "a golden opportunity" to alter its course. Trump told the General Assembly that Rubio was "deep into negotiations with Cuba" and warned that Washington would not permit "a haven for foreign adversaries" on its border.

Havana has expressed no progress during the talks, and Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio accused the United States of an "international crime" for obstructing oil supplies. China has complemented its words with aid; in January, President Xi Jinping authorized US$80 million in emergency financial assistance and a shipment of 60,000 tonnes of rice.

A Chinese naval vessel delivered 15,000 tonnes of that rice to Havana in May. Following Trump's May executive order expanding sanctions, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson declared that such measures gravely infringed on Cubans' right to subsistence and development, urging Washington to lift the blockade and all coercion against the island.