This statement was recorded while the American media, first Wall Street Journalreferring in recent days to a “secret” agreement between Beijing and Havana to set up a “spy base” on a Caribbean island about 100 miles off the coast of Florida, which would allow Beijing to gather intelligence from the US.

John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, downplayed the WSJ report, saying it was “not accurate.”

But according to an official who asked not to be named, the US government was informed after Joe Biden took office in 2021 that China was making “efforts” to set up bases “around the world,” especially for intelligence gathering purposes.

These “efforts” include “the presence of Chinese intelligence gathering facilities in Cuba,” the official added, insisting that Beijing “modernized” them in “2019” and that “it is in the files” of the US intelligence agencies.

He stressed that the Biden administration “inherited” this situation and is trying to respond to plans to deploy Chinese bases both internationally “prudently and prudently” and through diplomatic channels, in its contacts with other countries.

The US government, according to the same source, has “slowed down” China’s plans to set up bases abroad, but “there are still issues and we remain concerned” about its relationship with Cuba.

“China will continue to try to increase its presence in Cuba, and we will continue to work to prevent this,” he added.

The “slander” and “script” of the Americans “continue” was the reaction of the Cuban government yesterday Saturday, which already this week denied the existence of a Chinese spy base on the island.

“Some media outlets encourage them to cause harm and make noise without respecting the minimum rules of communication and without providing data or evidence to support what they are spreading,” Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernando Cosio said on Twitter.

On Thursday, he called US press reports “false and non-existent” and the Chinese embassy in Washington accused US officials of spreading “rumors and slander” while the US government is an “empire” of electronic eavesdropping.

The case is especially delicate from a diplomatic standpoint, as the US president recently said he expects tense relations between Washington and Beijing to “thaw” and hinted at a possible meeting with his Chinese counterpart in the near or not so near future.

This could put Joe Biden, who is campaigning for re-election, politically embarrassing. Republicans often accuse him of not being tough on China and Cuba.

Relations between the two powers deteriorated in February after a US fighter jet shot down a Chinese balloon high above US soil. Washington said it was for espionage purposes, which Beijing denies.

The episode led to the cancellation of a planned official visit to China by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. This visit has just been rescheduled for next Sunday June 18th.

Source: AFP, Reuters, WSJ, APE-MPE.