U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Monday that the Biden administration has taken diplomatic steps that have slowed China's efforts to showcase its military power worldwide, ahead of a scheduled visit to the Chinese capital, Beijing, this week. Blinken stated that "China's efforts in Cuba are part of a global endeavor by Beijing to expand its presence abroad, and the U.S. actions to counter that since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021 have yielded results." He added, "Our experts estimate that our diplomatic efforts have slowed China's efforts." In contrast, China has denied using Cuba as a spying base.
Blinken noted that the administration of former President Donald Trump was aware of updates made by China in 2019 to its intelligence-gathering facilities in Cuba, but the efforts to address that "did not make sufficient progress." He emphasized that officials in the Biden administration became aware of China's efforts "to expand logistical services, bases, and infrastructure for gathering intelligence to showcase and sustain military power," including the updates that occurred in Cuba. He mentioned that Biden instructed his team to adopt a more direct approach that includes dialogue with governments considering hosting Chinese bases and sharing information with them. He indicated that "we have been implementing this approach quietly and thoughtfully since then, and we are seeing results by our estimation. I cannot go into every step we have taken, but the strategy begins with diplomacy."
