Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez (Right)

Washington - According to the White House, China has been engaging in spying activities from Cuba for a while and upgraded its intelligence collection facilities there in 2019. A US official, speaking anonymously, stated that Chinese surveillance operations in Cuba are part of a global effort by China to enhance its intelligence-gathering capabilities. The official emphasized that this is an ongoing issue and not a recent development, with the upgrade of intelligence facilities in Cuba being well-documented. The Biden administration revealed this information following a report about a new spying effort in Cuba.

Earlier in the week, The Wall Street Journal reported that China had reached an agreement with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island, located approximately 100 miles away from Florida. Both the United States and Cuba initially expressed doubt about the legitimacy of the report. However, the Biden administration has been closely monitoring China's influence activities worldwide, especially in the Western Hemisphere, as stated by White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. The administration has been taking diplomatic measures and other undisclosed actions to counter possible Chinese spying missions, making some progress in the process.

In response to inquiries, a Chinese Embassy official in Washington, D.C. referred to a statement by a spokesperson from the Beijing Foreign Ministry, accusing the United States of spreading rumors and slander regarding the alleged Cuba spy station. The Chinese spokesperson also labeled the US as the "most powerful hacker empire in the world."

Recently, the Biden administration has been actively pursuing increased engagement with China, despite escalating tensions between the two largest economies, involving issues such as Taiwan and military activities in the South China Sea. The relationship between the United States and China became strained further after the US shot down a Chinese spy balloon that had crossed into US territory.