An economic collapse in the communist controlled economy of Cuba is straining its relations with communist China resulting in an unexpected report.
Cuba experienced a massive electrical blackout due to deteriorating infrastructure and damaging embargoes from the U.S., but rather than implement free market solutions, the communist government insists on failing with ideological purity.
‘The strained relationship is reflected in a precipitous drop of Chinese imports to Cuba, which went from $1.7 billion in 2017 to $1.1 billion.’
According to a report in the Financial Times, Chinese officials are exasperated with their Caribbean island compatriots. They cite economists and diplomats briefed in the situation between China and Cuba.
The sources said that China publicly supported Cuba’s vertically planned economy, but in private, Chinese officials have urged the island regime to follow the Chinese economic model with market-oriented elements.
The report said Chinese officials are “perplexed and frustrated” at Cuban leaders overlooking glaring disfunction in order to perpetuate the state-run economy.
The strained relationship is reflected in a precipitous drop of Chinese imports to Cuba, which went from $1.7 billion in 2017 to $1.1 billion only five years later.
Cuba is in its fourth day without power to about 10 million residents. Communist leaders blamed U.S. embargoes for the worsening power situation, but U.S. officials denied the accusations.
“The United States is not to blame for today’s blackout on the island, or the overall energy situation in Cuba,” said the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
Some Cuban residents have protested against the government’s failures by banging pots and pans while disrupting traffic.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel responded by warning that the government was “not going to allow acts of vandalism and much less alter the tranquility of our people.”
The situation is expected to deteriorate even more after Hurricane Oscar made landfall on Sunday in Cuba.
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China communists vs cuba communist, Chinese communist party, China drops cuba, Cuba power blackout, Politics
