US shares concern with Cuba about hosting China spy base

According to White House spokesperson John Kirby, the US has expressed its concerns to the Cuban authorities regarding Cuba hosting Chinese spy operations on its soil.

Kirby said that President Joe Biden was committed to keeping the lines of communication open despite the bilateral relationship with China being tense.

He told a White House briefing that he would not expect recent reports about a Chinese spy base in Cuba to affect a planned visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China later this week.

"We understand the bilateral relationship with China is tense right now, and nothing's changed about the fact that the president wants to keep the lines of communication open with the PRC," Kirby told reporters, using the initials for the People's Republic of China.

The Wall Street Journal last week quoted U.S. officials as saying a new Chinese spying effort was underway in Cuba. China on Monday denied it was using Cuba as a spying base.

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On Monday, Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez rejected the allegations as false, dismissing them as a U.S. fabrication meant to justify Washington's decades-old economic embargo against the island.

Blinken told reporters on Monday that China's efforts in Cuba were part of a global push by Beijing to expand its presence overseas. Still, U.S. actions since Biden came to power in January 2021 had "slowed down this effort."

With inputs from agencies

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