Category: Cuba

Cuba’s communists say: the Communist Party of China is today an indispensable reference point in the process of building socialism

On June 29, an important political function was held at the Palace of the Revolution in the Cuban capital Havana to mark the July 1 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March.

It was attended by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, along with members of the party’s Political Bureau; leaders of the Party, the State, the Government, the Young Communist League, mass organisations, the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior, the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), and others. Also present were Chinese Ambassador Hua Xin, members of his staff, Chinese students, and representatives of Chinese companies based on the island; as well as ambassadors and other members of the diplomatic corps.

In his speech, Ambassador Hua Xin affirmed that: “The Communist Party of China will always stand with the Communist Party of Cuba,” adding:

“Today, faced with the escalating blockade imposed by the United States, as well as its military threats, the Party, the Government, and the people of Cuba remain steadfast in their conviction, will not yield to pressure, and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and the socialist cause.

“We categorically oppose the illegal unilateral sanctions and any form of military intervention; we demand that the United States immediately end the blockade and all forms of coercion, and that it cease violating the Cuban people’s right to survival and development.

“We firmly support Cuba in exploring a path of socialist development, in accordance with its national conditions; and we highly value the decision of the Communist Party of Cuba to courageously promote measures of economic and social transformation. We are confident that, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba, the heroic Cuban people will overcome current difficulties and achieve new victories in socialist construction.”

The keynote address at the commemoration was delivered by Emilio Lozada García, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and head of its International Relations Department. Recalling the visionary pioneers who founded the CPC in 1921, he said:

“Those 50 courageous communist militants have multiplied and today number more than one hundred million, making them the largest Communist Party in the world today.”

He added that: “In the history of its struggle, the heroic leadership of the Long March by the Red Army, between October 1934 and October 1936, stands out. This campaign gave a new and decisive direction to the war and demonstrated what a people, guided by its Communist Party, is capable of achieving.”

Moving towards the present day, he noted: “The Reform and Opening Up policy, after almost five decades of implementation, has allowed China to become the world’s second-largest economy and has demonstrated the validity of socialism as a political system.

“It has also been key in the process of national reunification, especially in the incorporation of Hong Kong and Macao in 1997 and 1999.

“The theoretical and practical contributions of Chinese communists to Marxism-Leninism and the process of building socialism have been fundamental, both economically, politically, and ideologically. The top Chinese Party leaders, from Chairman Mao Zedong to the current General Secretary Xi Jinping, have played a vital role in advancing socialist thought in a once-poor country that, in less than a century, has achieved a high level of socioeconomic development and the eradication of extreme poverty.”

In the international arena, Emilio Lozada highlighted that: “The initiatives promoted in recent years by the General Secretary of the Party, Comrade Xi Jinping, regarding the Belt and Road Initiative, the Building of a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity, as well as the initiatives on global security, development, civilisation, and governance, have been particularly relevant… Both parties promote cooperation with political forces of the Global South through the BRICS Political Parties Forum and other international party spaces. They foster unity and coordination among all communist parties at the International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties.”

Bilaterally, he stressed: “We appreciate the firm and unwavering support of the Communist Party of China against the economic, commercial, and financial blockade and the energy embargo imposed by the United States government, as well as against the infamous accusation against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz.

“The Communist Party of Cuba is grateful for the constant support and accompaniment of the Communist Party of China, especially in the current circumstances of collective punishment and silent genocide against the Cuban people.”

He further emphasised: “The Communist Party of China is today an indispensable reference point in the process of building socialism and has demonstrated that the socialist system is a viable alternative to the savage capitalism that they are trying to impose on us from the North.

“Its commitment to achieving a more just, democratic, and equitable international order reaffirms that a better world is possible.”

Concluding, he noted: “In 2007, on the anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, stated: ‘Eighty-six years have passed since the establishment of the Communist Party of China. Now China has become an example and a bastion of hope for other countries.’

“Nineteen years later, these words remain fully relevant.”

Continue reading Cuba’s communists say: the Communist Party of China is today an indispensable reference point in the process of building socialism

Cuba and China reaffirm socialist solidarity

As previously noted by us, on June 11, a video call was held between Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee (IDCPC) and Emilio Lozada García, Head of the International Relations Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC).

The following article was originally published on the website of the IDCPC.

Liu Haixing Holds a Video Call with Emilio Lozada García, Head of the International Relations Department of the PCC Central Committee

June 11 (IDCPC) – Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC), held a video call with Emilio Lozada García, Head of the International Relations Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC).

Liu said that as comrades and brothers in the socialist camp, the Chinese people will always stand together with the Cuban people. No matter how the international landscape evolves, the commitment of the CPC and the Chinese government to the long-term friendship with Cuba will not change; the resolve to support Cuba in pursuing a socialist path suited to its national conditions will not change; and the direction of advancing China-Cuba practical cooperation and helping the Cuban people improve their lives will not change. He noted that in the face of extreme external pressure, the Cuban people, under the strong leadership of the PCC Central Committee, have firmly safeguarded national sovereignty and security and demonstrated unwavering determination to oppose foreign interference. A just cause enjoys abundant support, while an unjust one finds little. China firmly supports the just struggle of the PCC and the Cuban people.

Lozada stated that Cuba and the entire Latin America are currently going through a complex and grave situation. In disregard of the basic norms of international law and the universal opposition of the international community, the United States has escalated its blockade and sanctions against Cuba in all respects, which has seriously violated the Cuban people’s rights to subsistence and development and caused severe difficulties and challenges to Cuba’s economic and social development. The solidarity and firm support China has shown to Cuba are of vital importance to Cuba. The PCC congratulates the CPC on its upcoming 105th anniversary and stands ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the CPC to advance the building of a Cuba-China community with a shared future.

Cuba’s economic reforms and the prospects for socialist renewal

The following article by Carlos Martinez, co-editor of Friends of Socialist China and author of The East Is Still Red, examines the most far-reaching changes to Cuba’s economic model in more than 60 years – a programme of 23 strategic axes and 176 measures approved unanimously this month by the National Assembly.

Much of the Western press, and a good part of the Western left, has rushed to read the reforms as the moment the blockade finally broke the Revolution. Carlos argues the opposite: that they are best understood as a defence of socialism under siege, following the strategic logic China has pursued since 1978 – the controlled use of markets and foreign investment to develop the productive forces while the Communist Party retains political power and public ownership of the commanding heights. As the Cuba specialist Isaac Saney puts it, the measures, “far from representing a retreat”, constitute “a strategic effort to preserve and deepen the social gains of the Revolution”.

The article sets the reforms against the backdrop of an unprecedented US siege – 64 years of blockade, escalated under Trump and Rubio, with fuel choked off and blackouts of up to twenty hours a day – and traces Cuba’s two decades of gradual reform, from Raúl Castro’s “Guidelines” to the Mariel Special Economic Zone consciously modelled on China and Vietnam. The decisive question, Carlos insists, is the one that separated Beijing’s reforms from Gorbachev’s “perestroika”: who holds political power? Cuba, he argues, is travelling the road of China’s reform and opening up, not the Soviet road of perestroika – and China’s solidarity, in energy, food and party-to-party ties, may prove decisive.

In President Díaz-Canel’s words: “There is no sovereignty with an empty plate” – and “We are not going to come together only to resist. We are going to come together to create. To produce. To decide. To oversee. To prosper, and to transform.”

A version of this article, translated into Portuguese, can be found on Brasil de Fato.

Continue reading Cuba’s economic reforms and the prospects for socialist renewal

China and Cuba stand together at UN

During his recent stay in New York, where he attended the United Nations Security Council high-level meeting on ‘Upholding the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter and Strengthening the UN-centred International System’, called by China during its rotating presidency, along with the meeting of the Group of Friends of Global Governance, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also held numerous bilateral meetings with his counterparts who had also made special trips to join the meetings.

On May 27, Wang met with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.

Having conveyed President Xi Jinping’s sincere greetings to Comrade Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz and President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Wang noted that the theme of the UN meeting has received wide response and support. To achieve its goal, it is essential to respect the sovereignty and independence of all countries and oppose all forms of power politics and bullying. The Cuban people, united as one, firmly safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, demonstrating a strong will to oppose external blockade and interference, which has earned the respect of the international community. China will continue to stand up for justice for Cuba, support the just cause of the Cuban people, and assist Cuba in its economic and social development.

Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla thanked China for inviting Cuba to the meeting, stating that the world today is facing turmoil and disorder. Only China is capable of convening such a meeting, building consensus among the international community, and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the Global South. Cuba is experiencing its most severe situation since the revolution, the root cause of which is the US blockade and sanctions against Cuba. Cuba appreciates China’s firm support for its sovereignty and security, as well as the assistance and vocal support provided during difficult times. This fully demonstrates the special friendship between Cuba and China.

The previous day, Minister Rodríguez had addressed the Security Council meeting.

In his remarks, he acknowledged China’s leadership in convening the debate and linked the defence of the international order to the need to address conflicts and threats affecting global stability.

The Foreign Minister denounced US policy toward Cuba, which he described as a violation of international law and a threat to regional peace. He rejected the indictment against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, considering it a politically motivated decision, and warned of its possible use as a pretext to justify military aggression against the island. He also noted that the energy blockade and the tightening of the embargo have serious humanitarian consequences for the Cuban population.

He reiterated that Cuba does not pose a threat to the United States and reaffirmed the country’s willingness to engage in bilateral dialogue on issues of common interest, always based on respect for sovereignty and non-interference. Finally, he called on the international community, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Global South, the UN Security Council, and the UN General Assembly to act to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe or military aggression against Cuba.

Continue reading China and Cuba stand together at UN

China stands with Cuba against illegal indictment of Raúl Castro

On 20 May, the Trump administration unsealed a federal criminal indictment in Miami against 94-year-old Raúl Castro – former president of Cuba and one of the historic leaders of the Cuban Revolution – along with five other Cuban officials. The indictment, on charges including conspiracy to kill US nationals and the destruction of aircraft, was a calculated political provocation at a moment of maximum US pressure on the island.

China’s response, the following day, was unambiguous: a public rebuke calling on Washington to “stop wielding the big stick of sanctions and judicial measures against Cuba”, and a reaffirmation of Beijing’s firm support for Cuban sovereignty.

In the following article, our co-editor Carlos Martinez situates the indictment in the wider US regime-change campaign, examines China’s diplomatic and material solidarity with Cuba, and traces the six-decade partnership that gives it weight.

On Wednesday 20 May the Trump administration unsealed a federal criminal indictment in Miami against 94-year-old Raúl Castro, former President of Cuba and one of the key historic leaders of the Cuban Revolution, alongside five other Cuban officials. The charges include conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of destruction of aircraft.

The pretext given is the 1996 downing by Cuban air force MiGs of two aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group “Brothers to the Rescue”.

The indictment is a transparent political provocation. As the Cuban government made clear in its statement on the subject, “Brothers to the Rescue” was not a humanitarian organisation but a counter-revolutionary terrorist operation founded by long-time CIA-linked Cuban exile José Basulto, which had violated Cuban airspace at least 25 times between 1994 and 1996, despite formal complaints filed by Cuba with the US State Department, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

The downing of this terrorist group’s aircraft was nothing more than the defence of Cuban sovereign airspace – an act of self-defence explicitly protected by the United Nations Charter, the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, and the established principles of air sovereignty and proportionality.

Meanwhile, the hypocrisy is breathtaking. The same US government accusing Cuba of murder has, in recent months, killed nearly 200 people and destroyed 57 vessels in international waters of the Caribbean and the Pacific, on obviously false allegations of drug trafficking. These are, in the precise legal terms used by the Cuban government, “extrajudicial executions” under international law, and murders under US law itself. The accuser is the world’s most prolific extrajudicial killer.

The Castro indictment is not an isolated legal proceeding. It is the latest move in an open campaign of regime change. The Trump administration has tightened the six-decade economic blockade into a full-scale genocidal energy embargo, threatening tariffs against any country selling oil to Cuba and cutting fuel imports by an estimated 90 percent. Blackouts of up to 22 hours a day are the result, with all the disastrous impact on people’s lives that might be expected.

Trump himself has openly stated that the goal is to bring down the Cuban government “by the end of this year”, and asked at the press conference about the indictment whether he was considering a military kidnapping (as carried out against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores), replied only that he “didn’t want to say”. South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, a highly influential (albeit utterly deranged) figure in the Trump camp, went on record after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran saying that “Cuba’s next”.

China’s response

On 21 May, asked by Cuba’s Prensa Latina news agency about the indictment, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters that Beijing “firmly opposes” illegal unilateral sanctions that lack any basis in international law or authorisation from the UN Security Council, and stands “against abusing judicial means and exerting pressure on Cuba under any pretext by external forces”.

The United States, he continued, “should stop wielding the big stick of sanctions and judicial measures against Cuba, and stop threatening Cuba with force at every turn”. China, he affirmed, “firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and national dignity, and opposes external interference”.

To condemn US aggression in such a direct and unequivocal way, in response to a question from a Cuban journalist, in front of the world’s press, is a significant diplomatic statement. It is a direct rebuke of the US government’s illegal and immoral campaign against Cuba, and a clear declaration of solidarity with Cuba’s Revolutionary Government.

This comes just a day after Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin called out “treacherous military strikes against other countries, the hypocritical use of negotiations as cover for preparing such strikes, the assassination of leaders of sovereign states, the destabilisation of the domestic political situation in these states and the provocation of regime change, and the brazen kidnapping of national leaders for trial”.

Such strident denunciations of the wars on Iran and Lebanon, the assassination of Sayyid Ali Khamenei, the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores and the indictment of Raúl Castro represent a shift towards a more assertive tone, and send a clear signal that the US’s criminal and imperial conduct will not be tolerated.

A solidarity built over six decades

China-Cuba relations go back many decades. In September 1960, Cuba became the first country in the Western Hemisphere to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic. Fidel Castro always identified strongly with the Chinese Revolution, describing China in 2004 as “the most promising hope and the best example for all Third World countries”.

Visiting China in 1994, Fidel famously said: “If you want to talk about socialism, let us not forget what socialism achieved in China. At one time it was the land of hunger, poverty, disasters. Today there is none of that. Today China can feed, dress, educate, and care for the health of 1.2 billion people. I think China is a socialist country, and Vietnam is a socialist nation as well. And they insist that they have introduced all the necessary reforms in order to motivate national development and to continue seeking the objectives of socialism.”

Xi Jinping has, in turn, called the China-Cuba relationship “an exemplary case of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries”. Cuba joined the Belt and Road Initiative in 2018 and the Belt and Road Energy Partnership in 2021.

In recent years, that partnership has become a lifeline. China has committed to building 92 solar parks in Cuba by 2028 – with a combined capacity of roughly 2 gigawatts, equivalent to Cuba’s entire current fossil-fuel generation. More than half are already online. Cuba’s solar share of electricity generation has risen from 5.8 percent to over 20 percent in twelve months – in the words of energy analyst Dave Jones, “one of the most rapid solar revolutions” anywhere in the world.

In January 2026, Xi Jinping personally approved $80 million in emergency financial aid for electrical equipment, alongside a donation of 60,000 tons of rice. Beijing has also delivered 10,000 photovoltaic systems for isolated homes, maternity wards and clinics. Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Hua Xin summarises the relationship as one of “firm support under all circumstances”.

The Trump administration’s indictment of Raúl Castro is a calculated provocation, choreographed to threaten and humiliate at a moment of maximum US pressure. It will not succeed. Cuba’s Revolutionary Government has reaffirmed its “unwavering decision to defend the Homeland and its Socialist Revolution”.

China – the world’s largest economy by purchasing power, its largest manufacturer, and the most important member and partner of the Global South – continues to stand squarely behind Cuba and against hegemonism in all its forms.

China’s aid to Cuba: Solidarity against the US embargo in the time of Trump 2.0

The following article by Lee Siu Hin, originally published in Workers World, documents the scale and substance of China’s support for Cuba under the intensified pressure of Trump’s second term.

While the Trump regime tightens the screws on Cuba, China has been demonstrating its solidarity with the Cuban people in myriad ways, including sending food aid, restoring buses to the streets of Havana, and building solar power infrastructure designed to free Cuba from the energy stranglehold that forms the sharpest edge of the US blockade.

Since Trump returned to the White House last year, the embargo on Cuba has reached its most punishing levels. The US invasion of Venezuela in January, which severed Cuba’s oil supply lifeline, has compounded the crisis. Cuba faces food shortages, an energy emergency, and the continued denial of basic medical supplies – not through political or economic mismanagement (as the Western media would have you believe) but as a deliberate policy of economic warfare conducted by the US empire.

China’s response has been concrete and strategic. Ninety thousand tons of rice; emergency financial assistance of $80 million; medical equipment that Cuba cannot source elsewhere due to the embargo. The solar energy program being developed by the two countries is designed not merely to plug gaps but to structurally transform Cuba’s energy system so that it can enjoy energy sovereignty.

The economic aid provided by China constitutes a comprehensive, multi-pronged strategy, encompassing not only firm and robust political backing but also extensive, substantive assistance across vital sectors such as energy, food security and public welfare.

This is what solidarity looks like when it is not a gesture. Siu Hin concludes:

Everyone has a vital role to play in international solidarity. Western activists can also learn a great deal from the positive experience of the Global South, notably from China.

China has supported Cuba since its revolution in 1959. Shortly after, Che Guevara visited China in 1960 to secure comprehensive support for the newly born socialist island nation.

China played a critical role as a true friend in times of U.S. threat

For the past year, since Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, he has continued the imperialist policy of all-out blockade against Cuba — first during his initial term (2017–2021) and then under Biden (2021–2025). In response, China has offered timely and critical assistance to Cuba when it was needed most. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson declared on Jan. 27 that China “calls for immediate lifting of blockade and sanctions on Cuba. We will continue to support and assist Cuba.” (Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China on X)

Continue reading China’s aid to Cuba: Solidarity against the US embargo in the time of Trump 2.0

China and Cuba’s solar revolution: solidarity in practice

As Donald Trump tightens his energy stranglehold on Cuba – severing oil supplies, threatening countries that dare to help, and following the Kissinger playbook of “making the economy scream” – a remarkable story of socialist solidarity is unfolding.

Writing in the Morning Star, Carlos Martinez documents how China has stepped into the breach, assisting Cuba with its energy sovereignty and its green transition. Chinese solar exports to Cuba have rocketed from $5 million in 2023 to $117 million in 2025. Beijing has committed to building 92 solar parks on the island by 2028, with a combined capacity equivalent to Cuba’s entire current fossil fuel generation. Already, Cuba’s share of solar power has risen from 5.8 percent to over 20 percent in a single year – a pace of transition that energy analysts describe as one of the fastest ever achieved by a developing nation.

But as this article shows, China’s solidarity extends far beyond megawatts and megaprojects. Ten thousand photovoltaic systems have been donated for rural homes, maternity wards and health clinics. Five thousand solar kits installed across 168 municipalities are keeping medicines refrigerated and families powered through the blackouts. President Xi Jinping personally approved $80 million in emergency aid for electrical equipment. Chinese Ambassador Hua Xin has pledged “firm support under all circumstances.”

This, Carlos argues, is what South-South cooperation looks like in practice: technology, financing and humanitarian assistance with no conditionalities, no structural adjustment, no strings attached. Fidel Castro said in 2004 that China had become “the most promising hope and the best example for all Third World countries.” Cuba’s solar revolution
suggests his assessment has only become more prescient.

    When the lights go out in Havana — as they have done for up to 20 hours a day in the worst months of Cuba’s current energy crisis — the causes are not difficult to identify.

    The United States’ economic blockade, in place since 1962 and systematically tightened under successive administrations, has cost Cuba an estimated $160 billion ($2 trillion in current prices, which is equivalent to around 20 years of Cuba’s annual GDP).

    The latest escalation of this cruel and illegal blockade has involved a full-scale energy embargo, with the US attempting to completely cut off Cuba’s access to oil.

    The kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro three months ago resulted in the severing of by far Cuba’s most important energy supplier.

    Trump’s tariff threats then forced Mexico to cancel emergency oil shipments.
    The result has been blackouts, fuel shortages and severe disruption to daily life across the island. The Trump regime is following the Kissinger playbook of “making the economy scream” in order to force regime change.

    And life is unquestionably being made difficult. As a Cuban hairdresser told Medea Benjamin of CodePink in February: “You can’t imagine how it touches every part of our lives. With no gasoline, buses don’t run, so we can’t get to work. We have electricity only three to six hours a day. There’s no gas for cooking, so we’re burning wood and charcoal in our apartments. It’s like going back 100 years.”

    Thankfully, at the end of March, a Russian tanker carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude oil docked in Havana, providing some urgently needed relief. But Cuba’s energy import situation continues to be highly precarious and uncertain.

    Nobody can blockade the sun 

    The Cuban people’s response to this siege has not been surrender. It has been transformation — and at the heart of that transformation is a remarkable programme of solar energy development, driven by one of the most significant acts of international solidarity in the history of the global green transition.

    China’s support for the Cuban renewable energy programme has accelerated dramatically in recent years. Chinese solar exports to Cuba rose from $5 million in 2023 to $117m in 2025. A report in the Financial Times on April 6 notes that “thanks to Chinese technology, the Caribbean island has 34 solar parks in operation with a capacity of almost 1.2 gigawatts (GW), a 350 per cent increase on 2024, enabling Cuba to more than quadruple its proportion of solar-powered generation by the end of last year.”

    Beijing has committed to building 92 solar parks in Cuba by 2028, with a combined capacity of approximately 2GW — equivalent to Cuba’s entire current fossil fuel generation capacity. The solar parks already connected to the grid are contributing 1GW. As a result, Cuba’s share of solar in total electricity generation has risen from 5.8 per cent a year ago to over 20 per cent today.

    Energy analysts have described this as one of the most rapid solar transitions ever achieved by a developing nation.

    Cuba has set official targets of generating 24 per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2030, rising to 40 per cent by 2035 and 100 per cent by 2050. At the current pace of buildout, the 2030 target looks well within reach — and may be exceeded considerably sooner.

    Battery storage — currently in place at only four of Cuba’s 55 solar parks — will need to be expanded significantly to address the evening peak demand. Wind energy will also make a growing contribution, with 19 wind farms totaling 415 MW currently being built, again with Chinese support. But the pace of the solar buildout, measured against where Cuba was just months ago, is already extraordinary.

    Chinese support at all levels China’s contribution extends beyond large-scale infrastructure. Beijing has also donated 10,000 photovoltaic systems for deployment in isolated rural homes and critical facilities — including maternity wards and health clinics — ensuring that medical equipment can continue to function and medicines can be refrigerated even during power cuts.

    A further 5,000 solar kits have been installed in health centres across 168 municipalities, each comprising panels, inverters and storage batteries. The head of Cuba’s Electric Union described the household-level systems as life-changing: enabling families to run a refrigerator, a fan and a television, and reducing the rural-to-urban migration that energy poverty drives.

    Furthermore, in January 2026, President Xi Jinping personally approved $80 million in emergency financial aid for electrical equipment, alongside a donation of 60,000 tons of emergency rice aid.

    China has been involved in Cuba’s energy sector for many years — supplying wind turbines since 2018, providing electric buses through Yutong since 2005, and supporting the assembly of Chinese electric cars, scooters and bicycles in Cuba through the Caribbean Electric Vehicles (VEDCA) programme.

    In 2021, Cuba joined the Belt and Road Energy Partnership, the Chinese-led international framework for clean energy investment. But the current programme represents a qualitative leap, driven in large part by the urgency of Cuba’s situation and the depth of the bilateral relationship.

    As Chinese ambassador Hua Xin stated at the handover ceremony for a recent tranche of solar parks: China stands with Cuba in “firm support under all circumstances.” Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy stated that the co-operation between the two socialist countries represents “a joint commitment to energy sovereignty.”

    Socialist solidarity 

    What is taking shape in Cuba is a demonstration, in the most concrete terms, of what South-South co-operation and socialist solidarity look like in practice: China is providing technology, financing, expertise, training and humanitarian assistance to a country under siege, with no conditionalities, no structural adjustment requirements, no demand for market access.

    Hugo Chavez one described the flourishing ties between progressive Latin America and China as a “Great Wall against US hegemonism.” Cuba’s solar revolution is a powerful example of that wall in action.

    Fidel Castro said in 2004 that China had become “the most promising hope and the best example for all Third World countries.” Two decades later, the US is raining bombs on Iranian civilian infrastructure, tightening its cruel blockade on Cuba, kidnapping Venezuela’s elected president, and supporting an ongoing genocide in Gaza.

    China meanwhile is emerging as the major trading partner of the vast majority of global South nations; has become the world’s only renewable energy superpower; and consistently demonstrates its commitment to peace, international law and global prosperity.

    Fidel’s assessment looks more prescient than ever.

    China’s solidarity with Venezuela, Iran and Cuba

    The text below is an edited version of a talk given by Alex C during a launch event for the book “China Changes Everything” held at the SHAPE (Self Help for African People Everywhere) Center in Houston and online on March 28, 2026.

    The speech observes that, as the US escalates its wars of aggression against the Global South – invading Venezuela, bombing Iran and tightening its stranglehold on Cuba – the People’s Republic of China has stood firmly alongside the peoples under attack. Alex C traces China’s concrete solidarity with three revolutionary nations on the frontlines of the struggle against imperialism. In Venezuela, China defended Maduro’s government against US-backed coup attempts, and provided critical economic assistance and diplomatic support.

    In Iran, China has been a lifeline, purchasing Iranian oil to offset the impact of sanctions, supplying military components, and building a comprehensive strategic partnership that has fundamentally undermined Washington’s efforts to economically strangle the Islamic Republic.

    In Cuba, China has contributed $80 million toward the island’s electrical grid, forgiven substantial debt, and partnered with Havana on an ambitious transition to renewable energy.

    Drawing on the lessons of Lenin and Mao, the speech reminds us that “nations which embrace revolutionary socialism can and will endure the onslaught of imperialism” – and calls on those of us in the imperial core to stand with the anti-imperialist camp.

    The text of the speech first appeared on Workers World. The text is followed by a video of the full launch event.

    Venezuela — like China, Iran, Cuba and so many other countries under siege by the United States — is one of many links in the chain of international proletarian revolution. To paraphrase China’s Chairman Mao Zedong, the Venezuelan people stood up in 1999, proclaiming that from that day forth, they would be the masters of Venezuela’s destiny, not international capital. 

    Continue reading China’s solidarity with Venezuela, Iran and Cuba

    China invests in a bright future for Cuba

    The Trump administration’s energy siege on Cuba – cutting off oil from Venezuela, threatening punitive tariffs on any country that dares sell fuel to the island – is designed to bring the Cuban Revolution to its knees. What it has produced instead is one of the fastest and most remarkable renewable energy transitions ever achieved by a developing country, carried out in close partnership with socialist China.

    Facing blackouts lasting up to 20 hours a day, Cuba has responded not with capitulation but with transformation. In just twelve months, solar power’s share of Cuba’s electricity generation has tripled from 5.8 percent to over 20 percent, with 49 new solar parks now connected to the national grid. Wind energy, electric public transport and decentralised home solar systems are all expanding rapidly. The long-term goal is full energy sovereignty – complete independence from imported fossil fuels by 2050.

    This article from Workers World surveys Cuba’s ongoing energy revolution, examining the extraordinary scope of China’s solidarity – from large-scale solar parks to individual kits for rural homes and maternity wards – and what it tells us about the real nature of the
    China-Cuba relationship: not a relationship between patron and client, but a partnership between two socialist countries committed to each other’s development and determined to build a world beyond imperial domination.

    Relations between the two countries continue to develop in all areas, with China providing emergency humanitarian aid in addition to its support in renewable energy. On 12 March, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla held a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in which the two highlighted the powerful links of friendship between the two socialist countries and reaffirmed their intention to continuing strengthening bilateral relations.

    In a remarkable example of international solidarity, Cuba, with the aid of China, has more than tripled its solar power production — one of the fastest renewable energy transitions ever achieved by a developing country. China helped Cuba develop 49 new solar parks and committed to completing 92 solar parks by 2028. Cuba’s solar power production has jumped from 5.8% in early 2025 to over 20% of its total energy generation.

    The goal is for Cuba to reduce reliance on foreign fuel, gain independence from the U.S. blockade and become completely carbon neutral by 2050.

    In February of this year, solar energy accounted for 38% of electricity generation, during daytime hours. However, peak demand is from 7-8 p.m., and Cuba is unable to afford battery storage capacity — the most expensive component of a solar energy system. But China is racing to improve the technology, and “progress in recent months has been incredible,” according to Ember, a global energy think tank. Chinese battery exports last year hit a record high. (Washington Post, March 1)

    In addition to large solar parks, China sent 10,000 solar panel kit systems for individual homes and public buildings; 5,000 systems for critical facilities, including maternity homes, nursing homes, emergency rooms and municipal radio stations; and 5,000 kits specifically for rural and “isolated” homes that are not connected to the national grid.

    “If you install a 2kW system for these people there, so they can have a refrigerator, a fan, a television, their lives change completely, and then we contribute to preventing these people from migrating from their communities,” said Elena Maidelín Ortiz Fernández, head of the Electric Union’s installation project. (bellyofthebeastcuba.com, March 6)

    Cuba is also boosting renewable energy production by restoring thermal generation capacity, production of crude oil and petroleum gas and increasing their natural gas supply. China has provided Cuba with wind turbines and helped with their installation and maintenance since 2018. 

    Xinhua News Agency reported that Cuba has four small experimental wind farms with a fifth on the way. They have generated enough energy to save Cuba 29,630 tons of petroleum oil and about 96,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from being released into the atmosphere.

    Socialist planning in energy technology

    As an example of socialist planning, data is being gathered from Cuba’s experimental wind farms to determine which technology is the most feasible for each region in Cuba. Cuba’s largest wind farm being completed in La Tunas will contribute 1% of total energy production by 2028 and save 40,000 tons of fossil fuels. Cuba also plans on building another 12 wind farms along the northern central and eastern coasts.

    In 2005, China sent the first electric bus to Havana. It was manufactured by Yutong, a leading global producer of electric buses. Between 2015 and 2017, China sent Cuba a fleet of electric vehicles. Since 2021, after escalating fuel shortages imposed by the U.S. blockade, Cuba increased the imports of Chinese electric scooters, tricycles and cars.

    China continues to support Cuban public transport by supplying parts, components and equipment to rehabilitate the Yutong bus fleet. In a joint venture, Havana’s Caribbean Electric Vehicles (VEDCA) is assembling thousands of Chinese parts into Cuban EVs.

    Dave Jones, an energy analyst with Ember, said that Cuba is in the middle of one of the most rapid solar revolutions anywhere and ahead of most countries, including the U.S., in the share of electricity generated by sun power.

    Cuba’s goal is to have 26% to 37% renewable energy generation by 2030-2035. Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said that with China’s help, the project represents “a joint commitment to energy sovereignty.” (socialistchina.org, Feb. 25)

    With Chinese support, Cuba triples solar power in one year

    The following article, originally published in Microgrid Media (an independent news platform dedicated to covering the global shift toward renewable energy) details how, over the last 12 months alone, Cuba has managed to increase its solar-generated electricity from 5.8 percent to over 20 percent of total generation. “The Caribbean nation connected 49 new solar parks to its grid between early 2025 and early 2026, adding more than 1,000 megawatts of capacity with equipment and financing from China. The expansion represents one of the fastest renewable energy transitions ever achieved by a developing country.”

    The author notes that China’s support has been indispensable to these efforts. “The rapid expansion would have been impossible without sustained support from Beijing. China committed to building 92 solar parks by 2028 with combined capacity of approximately 2,000 megawatts, nearly matching Cuba’s entire current fossil fuel generation capacity. Beyond large solar farms, China donated approximately 70 tons of power generator parts and committed to installing 10,000 photovoltaic systems for isolated homes and critical facilities including maternity wards and clinics.”

    In the face of a cruel, criminal and escalating US energy blockade, Cuba’s rapid progress in solar power represents a substantial boost for defending the country’s sovereignty and its socialist development path. The article observes: “If Cuba sustains installation pace, achieves adequate battery storage, and maintains Chinese support through 2028, it could reach energy independence that renders oil blockades economically irrelevant.”

    We have previously covered China’s support helping Cuba advance towards energy sovereignty and sustainability, as well as China’s recent emergency aid to the island.

    Cuba has transformed its electricity system in just 12 months, increasing solar power from 5.8% to over 20% of total generation as the country races to escape dependence on oil imports now blocked by US sanctions.

    The Caribbean nation connected 49 new solar parks to its grid between early 2025 and early 2026, adding more than 1,000 megawatts of capacity with equipment and financing from China. The expansion represents one of the fastest renewable energy transitions ever achieved by a developing country.

    The dramatic shift comes as Cuba faces what officials call an “energy siege.” President Donald Trump signed an executive order in early 2026 threatening tariffs against any country providing oil to the island, cutting fuel imports by approximately 90 percent and triggering blackouts lasting up to 20 hours per day in some regions.

    Continue reading With Chinese support, Cuba triples solar power in one year

    Xi Jinping approves new round of aid from the People’s Republic of China to Cuba

    Following on from reports earlier this week about a new Chinese emergency aid program delivering 30,000 tons of rice to Cuba, China’s ambassador in Havana, Hua Xin, has announced a further set of assistance measures agreed by the Chinese government.

    We republish below a report from the Cuban Communist Party (translated by The Left Chapter), which notes that the newly-announced aid package includes US$80 million in financial assistance and a donation of 60,000 tons of rice. The financial assistance is aimed specifically at helping Cuba to resolve its energy crisis – caused by the US’s illegal blockade on the island, and exacerbated by the reduced flow of oil from Venezuela following the US’s flagrantly illegal attack on that country.

    The report is followed by an article in Brasil de Fato providing further information and noting that, while most of Cuba’s electricity is still generated from fossil fuels, “Chinese investment in renewables seeks to reduce dependence on imported fuels and strengthen the stability of the country’s electricity supply”.

    Xi Jinping approves new round of aid from the People’s Republic of China to Cuba

    January 21 (The Left Chapter) – The President of the People’s Republic of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi Jinping, approved a new round of aid to Cuba that includes emergency financial assistance valued at 80 million dollars for the acquisition of electrical equipment and other urgent needs that the country has, as well as a donation of 60,000 tons of rice.

    The Chinese ambassador to Cuba, Hua Xin, reported this to Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and President of the Republic, during a meeting on Tuesday afternoon at the Palace of the Revolution.

    Continue reading Xi Jinping approves new round of aid from the People’s Republic of China to Cuba

    China delivers emergency rice aid to Cuba

    A Chinese emergency aid program has delivered its first shipment of rice to Cuba, which is facing shortages as a result of the tightening US blockade on the island.

    Under the new program, China will send 30,000 tons of rice. The first shipment was handed over on Monday 19 January.

    At the handover ceremony – attended by Vice Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga, Minister of Domestic Trade Betsy Díaz Velázquez, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Déborah Rivas Saavedra and Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Hua Xin, among others – Ambassador Hua stated that “each grain of rice represents the unbreakable commitment of the Chinese people” to the island.

    He continued:

    We’re convinced that, with the joint effort of Cuba and China, no blockade will be able to turn off the light of hope, no difficulty will be able to block the path of progress.

    Hua Xin added that China’s solidarity with Cuba “not only embodies the deep bonds of special friendship between both nations, but also demonstrates the unwavering commitment to remain united even in difficult times”.

    Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez commented on X that the aid “is a sign of the close brotherhood and historical ties of friendship and solidarity that unite both nations”.

    Daniel Lambert, manager of the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap, made an apposite comment on social media: “Due to crippling sanctions the USA has illegally placed on Cuba for 64 years its population struggles to now survive. Yesterday China sent 30,000 tons of rice to assist the Cuban people. As the US starves its neighbour a nation across the world tries to assist.”

    We publish below reports from Xinhua Spanish and Prensa Latina. The Xinhua report has been translated by us.

    China delivers first batch of emergency food aid to Cuba

    HAVANA, Jan 19 (Xinhua) — On Monday, Cuba officially received the first batch of a donation of 30,000 tons of rice from China, sent as emergency aid to support efforts aimed at guaranteeing the food supply of the population of the Caribbean island.

    At the handover ceremony, held at the Ministry of Domestic Trade in Havana, Cuban Deputy Prime Minister and Head of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Óscar Pérez-Oliva, thanked China for the donation, describing it as “a concrete expression of China’s exemplary, unconditional and selfless cooperation with Cuba”.

    Continue reading China delivers emergency rice aid to Cuba

    Chinese and Cuban communists hold joint theoretical seminar

    The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) held their seventh theory seminar on December 4 in Beijing, focusing on the practice and experience in promoting socialist modernisation through scientific development planning.

    Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, and Gladys Martínez Verdecia, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the PCC and First Secretary of the Artemisa Provincial Party Committee, attended and delivered keynote speeches.

    Li noted that this year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cuba, and that the top leaders of the two parties and countries have exchanged congratulatory messages on this occasion and held two meetings this year, engaging in in-depth discussions on the relations between the two parties and countries.

    “These interactions have provided strategic guidance for further strengthening the ironclad friendship and building an even closer China-Cuba community with a shared future.”

    He also stressed the need to develop medium- and long-term strategic plans for socio-economic development. In this regard, he explained China’s experience in drawing up five-year plans, which, he said, have a broad basis of scientific development planning.

    Gladys Martínez highlighted the role of these exchanges as a mechanism to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the construction of a community of shared future. She pointed out that the meetings allow participants to address, from a Marxist approach, the current challenges of socialism and propose concrete solutions. She further affirmed that the alliance between the two countries reinforces the validity of socialism as a model of development for both peoples.

    Martínez denounced the unprecedented tightening of the US economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, as well as the arbitrary inclusion of the island in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. In this regard, she thanked China for its constant denunciation of this siege and expressed the island’s gratitude for the support of the Chinese government and people in key sectors such as agri-food, energy and cybersecurity. She further pointed out that both parties constitute an example of solidarity and cooperation in the construction of socialism.

    The Cuban delegation began its China visit in the province of Hunan, whose collaboration with the province of Artemisa is emerging as a positive reference for local ties between Cuba and China, with concrete results in agriculture, trade and economic development.

    Whilst in Hunan, the Cuban delegation paid tribute to the historical leader of the Chinese Revolution, Mao Zedong, at the monumental complex there in his honour. Martínez said that Cuba welcomes the idea of establishing a twinning agreement between Hunan and Holguín. These regions, which are the birthplaces of the historical leaders of both socialist revolutions, Fidel Castro and Mao Zedong, have potential for collaboration in tourism and mining.

    This seminar is the third one of its kind recently held between the CPC and its fellow ruling communist parties in the socialist countries, following those with the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and the Communist Party of Vietnam.

    Also, on December 4, Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC), met with Emilio Lozada García, Head of the International Relations Department of the PCC, who was in China to participate in the seminar.

    Liu said, under the strategic guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping and First Secretary Miguel Diaz-Canel, the special friendly relations between China and Cuba have maintained high-level operation with continuously enriched significance. The two Parties and countries have always supported and helped each other. Regardless of the changes in the international situation, China’s commitment to the long-term friendship with Cuba will not change, its determination to support Cuba’s socialist path will not change, its direction in promoting pragmatic cooperation with Cuba will not change, and its will to defend international fairness and justice and oppose hegemony and power politics together with Cuba will not change.

    Emilio Lozada García said, Cuba thanks China for the long-term and valuable support, and appreciates China’s consistent opposition to the US blockade and sanctions against Cuba. The relationship between the two Parties is the cornerstone of Cuba-China relationship. The PCC is willing to strengthen exchanges with the CPC at all levels and in all fields, advance the exchanges between the two Parties in a more systematic and institutionalised manner, and strengthen coordination on international affairs, so as to make due contributions to the development of both countries and to the building of a Cuba-China community with a shared future.

    Continue reading Chinese and Cuban communists hold joint theoretical seminar

    China’s support helping Cuba advance towards energy sovereignty and sustainability

    Cuba’s electricity system has come under intense pressure in recent years, shaped by decades of US sanctions, an ageing oil-based grid, and chronic fuel shortages due to restrictions on imports from Russia and Venezuela – a function of the US’s illegal and suffocating blockade. With peak demand reaching 2,500 MW and shortfalls of up to 1,300 MW, widespread daytime power cuts have caused significant disruptions to daily life, from water pumping to refrigeration. While emergency repairs and energy-efficiency measures—supported partly by Russian engineering—have stabilised around 850 MW, the fundamental solution being pursued is based on restructuring Cuba’s energy matrix toward renewable sources.

    In this project, China has emerged as Cuba’s most vital partner. In 2024–25, China helped launch an ambitious programme of 55 solar farms capable of supplying 1,200 MW by the end of the year, with 37 more planned by 2028. This collaboration directly addresses Cuba’s shortfalls and reduces its dependence on imported fossil fuels. Chinese assistance also includes refurbishing wind turbines and supplying distributed-generation equipment, spare parts, and thousands of photovoltaic systems for isolated homes.

    A recent landmark inauguration in Guanajay of the Mártires de Barbados II solar park symbolises this deepening partnership. The project, part of a Chinese donation that will add 120 MW to Cuba’s grid, was completed in record time thanks to tight coordination between Chinese and Cuban companies. The second phase, already underway, will add another 85 MW plus battery storage. Addressing the inauguration, Chinese Ambassador Hua Xin stated that these efforts embody China’s commitment to Cuba’s sustainable development and to building a China–Cuba community with a shared future. Cuban officials echoed this sentiment, emphasising that the new solar parks will save tens of thousands of tons of imported fuel annually, cut nearly 50,000 tons of CO₂ emissions, and significantly reduce service disruptions.

    Against a backdrop of US hostility and sanctions, China’s steady, practical support is helping Cuba advance toward energy sovereignty, economic resilience, and a cleaner, more secure future.

    We republish below a report on the inauguration from Granma, the newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, along with the text of a speech by British environmental campaigner Paul Atkin at the National Education Union (NEU) Cuba Solidarity Education Conference on 15th November about Cuba’s turn to solar power.

    China’s cooperation with Cuba in the energy sector remains strong and steady

    Guanajay, Artemisa.– “China’s cooperation with Cuba in the energy sector remains strong and steady, from ongoing projects, such as equipment and spare parts for distributed generation, the 5,000 photovoltaic systems for isolated homes, and the installation of other solar photovoltaic parks (PSFV) with a total capacity of 85 MW, to the next project to install another 200 MW and the new 5,000 photovoltaic systems for isolated homes.”

    Continue reading China’s support helping Cuba advance towards energy sovereignty and sustainability

    Cuban culture celebrated in London

    Friends of Socialist China co-editors Carlos Martinez and Keith Bennett were pleased to join a celebration of Cuban Culture Day on October 21. Held in a packed Bolivar Hall, the cultural premises of the Venezuelan Embassy in London, ‘Cuban Mosaic: A Night of Identity and Resilience’ brought together Cuban artists and friends of Cuba from cultural and artistic circles for a dazzling medley of music, dance and poetry that served to well illustrate the vibrancy and diversity of Cuban culture and the society it reflects.

    Organised by the Cuban Embassy in London, with support from the Cuba Solidarity Campaign (CSC), the evening was presided over by Ambassador Ismara Mercedes Vargas Walter, who expressed her pride in the artistic quality and warmth of the gathering, which strengthened ties between Cuba and people in Britain. Friends of Cuba from all walks of life were present at the invitation-only gathering.

    The following report was originally published on the website of the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

    On 21 October, in London, the Cuban Embassy, with the support of the Campaign for Solidarity with Cuba (CSC), hosted an unforgettable gala in celebration of Cuban Culture Day. Entitled ‘Cuban Mosaic: A Night of Identity and Resilience,’ the event brought together Cuban artists and friends of the island in the United Kingdom to offer a broad and exciting sample of our music, dance and poetry. The result was a vibrant and emotional evening at the Bolívar Hall of the Venezuelan Embassy in the United Kingdom.

    The programme combined virtuosity, tradition and contemporary creativity, with Cuban artists presenting a variety of performances and instruments, from classical pieces to modern compositions, allowing the audience to experience the cultural richness of Cuba and the celebrations that take place in our country during October.

    At various points, classics from the Cuban tradition were revived alongside arrangements and performances that reflected the vitality and relevance of our culture. The evening was opened by pianist Eralys Fernández and clarinettist Lester Chío Alonso, who offered a highly lyrical start. Guitarist Nikos Baroutsakis captivated the audience with his repertoire, while Ramon Goose and John Woodham brought rhythm and flavour with guitar and congas. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Sergio Marciano shone with pieces that connected directly with the audience. Dance talent was represented by Damarys Farres & CSA Dance Company, who offered choreographic moments of great expressive power, and the London Lucumi Choir provided the voices needed to complete the evening’s sound palette.

    The diverse and enthusiastic audience included British parliamentarians, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of cultural, business, consular and academic institutions, as well as the CSC. They all joined in the celebration, enjoyed the displays of Cuban culture up close and learned more about the significance of Cuban Culture Day, which commemorates the identity, resilience and creativity of our people.

    Ambassador Ismara Mercedes Vargas Walter presided over the evening and expressed her pride in the artistic quality and warmth of the gathering, which strengthened ties between Cuba and the British public. The presence of diplomats, cultural representatives and friends of Cuba underscored the international and dialogue-oriented nature of the event.

    Cuba-China diplomatic relations: 65 years from history to the future

    The leaders of China and Cuba exchanged messages on September 28, marking the 65th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two socialist countries.

    In his message to Miguel Diaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and Cuban President, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping noted that 65 years ago, Cuba took the lead among Western Hemisphere countries in establishing diplomatic relations with New China, opening a new chapter in China-Cuba relations. Over the past 65 years, China-Cuba relations have continued to deepen, becoming a model of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries as well as a model of sincere mutual assistance among developing countries.

    Xi also recalled that not long ago, Diaz-Canel came to China to attend the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. They met again and reached an important consensus on building a closer China-Cuba community with a shared future.

    A joint congratulatory message by Diaz-Canel and General Raul Castro, leader of the Cuban Revolution, noted that for more than 60 years, Cuba-China relations have stood the test of time and continued to grow, with the two sides enjoying deep political mutual trust, close exchanges on socialist development, and a continually strengthened traditional brotherhood and friendly cooperation.

    In a September 29 article, Granma, the official voice of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC), referenced the long history of friendship and solidarity between the two peoples, dating back to the wars of independence fought by the Cuban people in the latter part of the 19th century:

    “On the century-long journey that unites the peoples of the two countries, the bonds have grown stronger and stronger: ‘There was not a single Cuban Chinese traitor, there was not a single Cuban Chinese deserter,’ reads the monument built in Havana in memory of those who fought for Cuba’s independence.

    “The phrase on the metal plaque is still relevant today. In a sense, it can be interpreted as a prediction of the ties that were forged, and which have led to this friendship being described as ‘ironclad.’”

    Granma further notes that, alongside the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1960:

    “Ernesto Che Guevara’s visit to the Asian giant that same year was a key moment in the history of Chinese-Cuban ties and contributed to the development of a strategic relationship.

    “In 1993, President Jiang Zemin would be the only head of state to visit the island, in a crucial context, after the collapse of the socialist camp… Years later, the Cuban government described the visit as ‘an invaluable gesture of brotherhood and confidence in our country’s capacity.’

    “The images of Fidel on the Great Wall of China in 1995 are a fundamental part of the shared history. On December 1st, he walked 500 metres of the colossal structure, becoming the international head of state who had reached the highest point.”

    Continue reading Cuba-China diplomatic relations: 65 years from history to the future

    China and Cuba show that a better world is not only possible – it is being built day by day

    The opening session of our China Conference 2025, held in London on September 27, was addressed by senior diplomats from the embassies of the People’s Republic of China, Republic of Cuba, Russian Federation, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

    Below we reprint the main body of the inspiring speech delivered by Pablo Arturo Ginarte Sampedro, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba. He notes that: “This year we celebrate a momentous milestone: the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the People’s Republic of China. In 1960, revolutionary Cuba became the first nation in the Western Hemisphere to recognise the People’s Republic. That decision was an act of sovereignty and principle, and it laid the foundation for what has become an unbreakable, ironclad friendship. That friendship was forged by the historic leaders of our revolutions, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and Chairman Mao Zedong.”

    It is a profound honor to address you today from this historic place, Bolívar Hall, a beacon of Latin American culture and resistance here in London, graciously hosted by our dear Venezuelan comrades. On behalf of the people and government of the Republic of Cuba, I bring you the warmest, most fraternal greetings.

    This year we celebrate a momentous milestone: the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the People’s Republic of China. In 1960, revolutionary Cuba became the first nation in the Western Hemisphere to recognise the People’s Republic. That decision was an act of sovereignty and principle, and it laid the foundation for what has become an unbreakable, ironclad friendship.

    That friendship was forged by the historic leaders of our revolutions, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and Chairman Mao Zedong. From those early days it has grown into a comprehensive strategic partnership. Today we work hand in hand to build a China-Cuba community with a shared future.

    Our partnership extends well beyond trade and infrastructure. Equally important is our collaboration in science and technology. Together we are building sovereign scientific capacity in the Global South so the benefits of the fourth industrial revolution serve people, not only the profits of a few multinational corporations. This scientific solidarity is essential for achieving genuine independence in the 21st century.

    For Cuba, these are not abstract ideals. For more than 60 years my country has resisted the most brutal and prolonged economic, commercial, and financial blockade in human history, a criminal policy imposed by the United States. In that struggle our friendship with China has been a vital pillar of support. Through trade, investment, and solidarity, China has offered a crucial lifeline and shown the world a model of relations based on sincere mutual assistance rather than imperial domination.

    Continue reading China and Cuba show that a better world is not only possible – it is being built day by day

    China and Cuba build on the friendship established by Chairman Mao and Fidel Castro

    On the morning of September 4,  General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President Xi Jinping met at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing with First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) and President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez who was in China for the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

    President Xi pointed out that in recent years the building of a China-Cuba community with a shared future has deepened with tangible outcomes, which has become a vivid symbol of the ironclad friendship between the two parties and the two countries. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cuba. Both sides should take this opportunity to bring China-Cuba relations to a higher level and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

    President Díaz-Canel noted that the commemorative events marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression had a solemn and lively atmosphere and are of great historic significance. China’s important contributions to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War will never be forgotten. Cuba was the first country in Latin America to build a bilateral community with a shared future with China. The relations between the two Parties and two countries are close, and the friendship is rock-solid.

    The two sides released the Joint Statement between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Cuba on Accelerating the Construction of the China-Cuba Community with a Shared Future and signed multiple bilateral cooperation documents in such fields as Belt and Road cooperation, practical cooperation, the Global Security Initiative, sub-national agricultural cooperation, and artificial intelligence.

    According to the joint statement: “The two Heads of State highly value the traditional friendship between the Republic of Cuba and the People’s Republic of China… and the fruitful results achieved in the development of relations and cooperation in various fields in the 65 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations. Cuba and China are good friends, good comrades and good brothers. The friendship between Cuba and China was forged by the historical leaders of the two countries, represented by Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro Ruz.”

    It notes that, “The Heads of State emphasise that the relationship between Cuba and China is at its most favourable historical point. They reaffirm their strong political commitment to advancing bilateral relations by accelerating the development of a Cuba-China Community of Shared Future. The two leaders engaged in a comprehensive exchange of views on party and country relations, reaching significant consensus. They agree to continue strengthening strategic communication, increasing high-level exchanges, deepening both bilateral and multilateral political cooperation, and promoting collaboration at all levels and in all areas. They also commit to further enhancing the special friendly relations between China and Cuba in the New Era and to speeding up the establishment of the Cuba-China Community of Shared Future.”

    The Cuban side highly values the outstanding theoretical and practical contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era and hopes that the Chinese people will continue to make new and greater achievements in building socialism under the firm leadership of Comrade Xi Jinping and the CPC.

    The Chinese side highly values and firmly supports the fact that, under the leadership of the PCC, the Cuban people persevere on the path of socialism and continuously explore a development model in accordance with their own national conditions, overcoming all difficulties. The Chinese side reaffirms its willingness to deepen friendship, strengthen solidarity and expand cooperation in all fields with the Cuban side.

    The Chinese side reaffirms its firm support for the Cuban people in their struggle to defend their national sovereignty against the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States. The unjust and illegal blockade of the United States harms the right to life of the Cuban people and constitutes the main obstacle to Cuba’s development. The Chinese side once again calls on the United States to remove Cuba from the arbitrary “list of state sponsors of terrorism.”

    Both sides agree to continue strengthening the special ties between the CPC and the PCC, as the cornerstone of relations between the two countries.

    Both sides agree to deepen cooperation in science, technology and innovation in the fields of cybersecurity, nanotechnology, life sciences, biomedicine, food production and agrotechnology, brain sciences, biodiversity, climate change, energy and environment, digital transformation, robotics and automation.

    Continue reading China and Cuba build on the friendship established by Chairman Mao and Fidel Castro

    China demands end to US blockade of Cuba, expands scientific collaboration

    In the following article for Workers World, Andrew Johnson highlights the deepening solidarity between China and Cuba, rooted in the two countries’ shared socialist project and their opposition to imperialism. The article highlights China’s increasingly assertive international stance, enabled by decades of rapid state-led economic development, which has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty and positioned China as an economic and technological powerhouse.

    China has become Cuba’s largest trading partner and a vital ally as Cuba continues to endure the harsh effects of the decades-long US blockade, which has intensified since the Soviet Union’s collapse. The blockade, described by China’s Foreign Ministry as a “profound disaster” and a violation of international law, prevents Cuba from trading freely and punishes third-party countries for engaging economically with the island.

    Demonstrating practical solidarity, China has donated solar panels to bolster Cuba’s energy grid and continues to expand scientific collaboration. A major development is the establishment of a joint biotech lab between the Cuban Center for Immunoassay and China’s Beijing Institute of Technology, focused on research into viruses like Covid-19 and influenza. In February 2025, the first Sino-Cuban biopharmaceutical company opened in Changzi, China, dedicated to producing advanced antibody medicines.

    The article frames these moves as part of a broader resurgence of socialist internationalism, with Cuba joining BRICS as a partner state in 2023. The collaboration between the two nations poses a challenge to waning US hegemony and a step toward building a more multipolar world.

    Andrew concludes:

    China and Cuba both boast a history of scientific achievements, particularly in the biomedical field. Increased scientific cooperation between the two countries is proving to be a powerful basis for the two socialist countries to bilaterally strengthen their solidarity.

    The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has a long history of supporting the global working class. This has recently included vital support for and cooperative projects with socialist Cuba that aid both countries’ people. 

    Continue reading China demands end to US blockade of Cuba, expands scientific collaboration

    May Day in Cuba – a reaffirmation of the Revolution

    The following article by Bernard Regan, originally published in Labour Outlook, outlines the significance of the May Day celebrations in Cuba, in which “over one million Cubans demonstrate in Havana in the Plaza de la Revolución, led by the trade union movement”.

    Bernard discusses the cruel economic blockade imposed on Cuba by the US, now being doubled down on by the Trump administration. Biden, a few days before leaving office, removed Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, only for the designation to be restored by Trump within 24 hours of entering the White House. Cuba’s ridiculous designation as a state sponsor of terrorism “is designed to cut Cuba off from any access to international banking agencies making it extremely difficult, if not impossible to trade, to obtain vital medicines, foodstuffs, materials and equipment critical to the functioning of the island’s economy from other countries worldwide”.

    The article observes that China is working with Cuba to help reduce the island’s dependency on oil, with agreements in place to for Chinese companies to lead construction of around 100 photovoltaic farms. While China’s involvement in such projects is profit-generating, it “will not interfere in the internal politics of the countries it enters into trade agreements with” – in stark contrast to the US’s mode of doing business.

    Indeed China is working with countries throughout Latin America on infrastructure projects that are helping them to break out of underdevelopment and enhance regional integration. Recognising the danger this poses to US hegemonic interests, the US is “now engaged in a war to exclude China from many markets” in the region.

    The article concludes by calling on readers to raise their voices against the continued hostility towards Cuba and the relentless attacks on its sovereignty.

    Bernard Regan is Secretary of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign.

    May Day in Cuba is a national holiday marked by huge demonstrations across the country and this year will be no exception.  Over one million Cubans will demonstrate in Havana in the Plaza de la Revolucion led by the trade union movement.

    The event will be a positive reaffirmation of the values of the revolution and an expression of Cuba’s determination to resist the pressures of the blockade imposed on the island by successive United States administrations and most recently of course by President Donald Trump.

    The blockade is imposed on Cuba despite the United Nations General Assembly voting 32 times consecutively to call for its complete removal. From 1st March 2023 to February 2024 the blockade caused material damages estimated at $5,056,800,000. Just 15 minutes without the blockade would enable Cuba to provide hearing aids for all the children who needed them; 30 minutes blockadeless and all the electrical and conventional wheelchairs needed could be provided. The list goes on and on. It is a totally unjustifiable persecution of the Cuban people.

     In November 2024 the most recent vote recorded 187 countries against the blockade and only two (USA and Israel) voting for its continuance whilst one nation (Moldova) abstained.  Despite this overwhelming vote Trump continues these vindictive policies.  Far from having any negative impact on the world Cuba has displayed an exemplary record of sending medical support to countries across the globe in need of practical solidarity. 

    Since 1960, over 600,000 medical professionals have gone to over 160 countries to provide their expertise.  In 2020 it was estimated that there were 30,000 Cuban doctors in 67 countries.  Britain’s population is over 6 times that of Cuba.  Just imagine if Britain had acted with such a selfless sense of solidarity for people across the globe, how many more millions of lives could have been saved and sick and injured treated.

    Over the whole period of Cuba’s existence, it has not been possible to put a cigarette paper between the policies of Democrats or Republicans.   Occasionally there have been changes of tack – as when President Obama established diplomatic relations with Cuba but did not remove the most vicious of the legislation that was imposed on the island. 

    Trump has never made a secret of his animosity towards Cuba or indeed for that matter towards any nation that asserts its sovereignty.  In 2018 speaking at the United Nations General Assembly he said, “It has been the formal policy of our country since President Monroe (1823) that we reject the interference of foreign nations in this (western) hemisphere and in our own affairs.” It was a clear declaration of intent that he wished to make the Latin American economies subservient to Wall Street’s interests.

    On taking office on 20th January 2025 Trump placed Cuba on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) just 24 hours after his taking office.  President Biden had taken Cuba off the list – but only a week before he was to cease being President.  The appointment by Trump of Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State signalled the President’s clear intention to follow the vicious anti-Cuban policies of his co-Republican.

    The SSOT status has been described by some as equivalent to an economic “death sentence”.  It is designed to cut Cuba off from any access to international banking agencies making it extremely difficult, if not impossible to trade, to obtain vital medicines, foodstuffs, materials and equipment critical to the functioning of the island’s economy from other countries worldwide.

    Cuba is trying to deal with this for example by reducing its dependency on oil to generate electricity.  It has reached agreements with China, for example, to provide around 100 photovoltaic farms which are currently in the process of being installed.  Whilst some hope that the BRICS group of countries might provide an alternative international currency to rival the almighty dollar that seems unlikely in the short-term and may indeed not come to fruition given the tariff war that the White House is unleashing which may indeed create divisions between China and India for example.

    The USA’s tariff wars will continue.  Trump is fearful of China’s influence in Latin America where some 20 countries have already joined the Belt and Road initiative, hence his obsession with the Panama Canal and the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. However, the opening of the Chancay mega-port in Peru and the much talked about potential alternative of a Nicaraguan “Panama Canal” threaten Washington’s aspitrations for the region. Whilst China will undoubtedly pursue its own economic interests in a pragmatic manner, unlike the USA, it is almost certain, given its track record, that it will not interfere in the internal politics of the countries it enters into trade agreements with.

    The tariffs that Washington has imposed on China are a clear indication of the economic war for domination of the continent that is taking place. Like Monroe before him the USA is now engaged in a war to exclude China from many markets across the globe but Latin America is an immediate concern.  The continent holds invaluable resources of rare earth minerals as well as oil in abundance and Washington has already mobilised the Pentagon in this economic conflict.  The current head of the United States Southern Command, Admiral Alvin Holsey, has followed in the footsteps of his predecessor General Laura Richardson, in identifying the economic resources that the continent holds as being of strategic interest to the USA. On 14th January – just a week before Trump was inaugurated – the columnist Bret Stephens wrote in the New York Times a column calling for a USA military intervention to overthrow President Maduro in Venezuela.            

    The British government casts its vote against the inhuman blockade of Cuba but does nothing to challenge its punitive affects.  The solidarity campaign with Cuba is as vital as it has ever been. Trump wants to create a unipolar world with Washington and Wall Street at its centre.  Cuba demonstrates that another world is possible – one in which human life is valued and prioritised, in which people can live in dignity and at peace. It is those values which have led to Cuba standing alongside the people of Palestine against tyranny and oppression.  Cuba does not stand alone but we must continue to raise our voices and encourage others to do so to end the unjustifiable assault against its sovereignty which continues to be inflicted on it by successive Presidents of the United States of America.