China denied US claims it has spy operations in Cuba, as tensions flare for the second time this year between the world’s two largest economies over Beijing’s alleged global espionage reach.
(Bloomberg) — China denied US claims it has spy operations in Cuba, as tensions flare for the second time this year between the world’s two largest economies over Beijing’s alleged global espionage reach.
“On the alleged spy activities of China in Cuba, this is a piece of false information,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday, responding to a question about Biden administration claims that China has been spying on the US from Cuba.
“Over the past two days, we have seen US government and media releasing a great deal of inconsistent information,” he added. “The US has no chance of driving a wedge between China and Cuba. We are sincere friends.”
A senior official in the Biden administration acknowledged the existence of Chinese spy facilities in Cuba in a statement issued Saturday, on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. The official said the facilities’ presence dated back to the Trump administration and that Beijing continues to push to expand them.
READ MORE: US Acknowledges China Has Spy Base in Cuba, Expanded It in 2019
Days earlier, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby pushed back on a Wall Street Journal report that China and Cuba had reached a secret agreement to establish a spy facility on the island.
The Biden administration’s current position is there’s been no new deal, and that the facilities have been in place for years.
The spy saga comes as the US looks to resume high-level dialog with China, after separate allegations of Chinese espionage earlier this year derailed talks. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit China this month, in a rescheduled trip that was scrapped in February after an alleged Chinese spy balloon crossed the US.
Wang said he had “nothing to share on the visit,” which has not been confirmed by China. The Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper in a Sunday evening report said it was still possible the Biden administration could “mess up their own plans” on a Blinken visit, citing Chinese academics.
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