According to a Biden administration official, China has been operating a spy base in Cuba since 2019, an effort towards enhancing its global intelligence-gathering capabilities. The U.S. intelligence community is aware of this situation and has been responding through diplomatic means and other actions. The existence of the spy base was confirmed following a Wall Street Journal report that China and Cuba had an agreement in principle to build an electronic eavesdropping station on the island, a report which the White House called inaccurate.
Key Points:
- An anonymous Biden administration official confirmed the presence of a Chinese spy base in Cuba, as part of China’s push to upgrade its global intelligence-gathering capabilities.
- The U.S. intelligence community has been aware of the Chinese spy operations in Cuba and other parts of the world, and the Biden administration has been making efforts to counteract them through diplomatic efforts and other measures.
- The Wall Street Journal previously reported that China and Cuba had reached an agreement to build an eavesdropping station on the island, a claim that the White House labeled as inaccurate.
- Despite tense U.S.-China relations, the White House is keen to restore high-level communication between the two countries, with the Secretary of State Antony Blinken planning a visit to Beijing, and CIA Director William Burns and national security adviser Jake Sullivan having held meetings with their Chinese counterparts.
- The U.S.-China relationship experienced heightened tensions last year following then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and the U.S. shooting down a Chinese spy balloon that had crossed the United States.
