Speaking about the presence of Chinese intelligence services on the island, the official said: “It is well documented in the intelligence archives.”
US media have reported in recent days that Beijing intends to establish a spy base in Cuba off the southeastern coast of the United States.
The official, who asked not to be identified, added that when President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, “we were made aware of a number of sensitive efforts by the People’s Republic of China in the world to expand overseas logistics, bases and intelligence infrastructure”. worldwide.”
“These efforts included the presence of the People’s Republic of China’s intelligence-gathering facilities in Cuba,” he said, adding that “the People’s Republic of China has actually upgraded the intelligence-gathering facilities in Cuba by 2019”.
As for the Cuban government, which had previously denied the existence of a Chinese spy base on its territory, it criticized these declarations. “The slanderous speculation continues, and it is clear that a number of media are promoting it to harm and create anxiety, without meeting minimum standards of communication and without providing supporting data or evidence” of what is published, said Assistant Secretary of State Carlos Fernandez. said de Cossio on Twitter.
This comes at a time when Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants to accelerate the expansion of the security presence around the world.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is due to visit China at the end of next week, having canceled a visit in February following a Chinese balloon flight over the United States.
A base in Cuba, located 150 km off the far south of Florida, would present the most direct challenge to the mainland United States so far.
On Friday, China warned the United States not to “interfere in Cuba’s internal affairs” in response to media reports of the alleged basis.
In response to a question on the base at a regular press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said he had “no knowledge” of the matter, before criticizing the policy American towards Cuba.
“As we all know, spreading rumors and slander is a common and patented tactic of the United States to deliberately interfere in the internal affairs of other countries,” Wang said.
The US official said on Saturday that the administration believes diplomatic efforts have “slowed down the People’s Republic of China” in expanding its activities in Cuba.
“We believe that the People’s Republic of China is not at the level it hoped to be,” he added.
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