China pledges $100 mn to Cuba, discusses new debt terms: minister, China has donated $100 million to Cuba to help it survive a crippling economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, the island nation’s Deputy Prime Minister Alejandro Gil said Saturday. The donation came as Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel concluded a visit to China, part of a rare foreign trip.
China pledges $100 mn to Cuba, discusses new debt terms: minister
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Diaz-Canel met on Friday and “the offer arose of a donation of around $100 million by China,” Gil told Cuban state television. Gil, who is also Cuba’s economy minister, said the money would go toward “priorities” on the island, which has been rocked by its worst economic crisis in three decades. Diaz-Canel concluded his visit to China later Friday and continued on a global tour designed to gain support for Cuba in renovating an electrical system that has failed repeatedly, causing frequent blackouts.
Gil said leaders of the two countries also discussed “the subject of the debt” that Cuba has accrued with China but did not specify the size of the debt. “Our president explained the situation that we confront, and there was understanding from China. We are seeking mutually acceptable formulas for the planning and restructuring of the debts,” Gil said.
After Venezuela, China is Cuba’s second-largest trading partner. Both countries support Cuba strongly on a political level. The president of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, agreed to transport petroleum to Cuba, gift a solar power plant, and waive interest on debts when Diaz-Canel visited there earlier in his trip, according to Gil. Russia and Turkey were also scheduled to be stops on Diaz-journey.
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