China Deepened Cooperation In "All Fields" at "All Levels" With Cuba In 2017

Chinese state media openly stated their plans to deepen ties with the country in 2017, which included military-to-military relations.

WASHINGTON - After the Pentagon said that reports China was developing a “secret” billion-dollar listening station in Cuba less than 100 miles away from American soil was “inaccurate”, the Biden Administration has now stated that China has been operating military facilities for intelligence collection in Cuba since at least 2019.

The administration said that this fact is “well documented”, but said that the Wall Street Journal report is “not accurate”.

The Wall Street Journal reports in question are located Here and Here.

An administration official was cited by CNN as saying that China “conducted an upgrade of its intelligence collection facilities in Cuba in 2019,” and said, “This is well-documented in the intelligence record”.

White House Says Reports Are Not Accurate

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the report by the Wall Street Journal was “not accurate” and said, “This is an ongoing issue and not a new development, and the arrangement as characterized in the reporting does not comport with our understanding”.

“What I can tell you is that we have been concerned since day one of this administration about China’s influence activities around the world; certainly in this hemisphere and in this region, we’re watching this very, very closely,” he said.

One of the sources who spoke to CNN said that the discrepancy was “semantic quibbling”.

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Denies Reports

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío also denied the reports, calling them “slanderous” and speculative.