Cuban regime announces visa exemption for Chinese citizens

In its desperate attempt to increase the number of international tourists, the Cuban regime announced this Saturday its willingness to eliminate the visa requirement for Chinese citizens who wish to travel to the Island.

This was announced by the Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García Granda, during the closing of the International Tourism Fair (FITCuba 2024), while making public the decision to welcome China as a Guest Country of Honor in the next edition of the event.

“In the midst of important efforts to promote economic-commercial ties with China, particularly tourism, I am pleased to announce our country's decision to establish visa exemption for Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports,” said the head of MINTUR in their social networks.

According to the official press, the measure would already be in force. According to the note of Granma, “Cuba established visa exemption for Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports.”

For his part, the Chinese ambassador in Havana expressed that the restart of direct flights and the visa exemption for nationals, are decisions that contribute to strengthening the relations of both countries.

This year, within the framework of FitCuba, the airline Air China announced the restart of direct flights from Beijing to Havana, via Madrid, starting on May 17. The airline's services had been suspended during the pandemic.

Between 2010 and 2019, tourism figures from China skyrocketed and experienced an average annual increase of 23%, according to the official organ of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). In 2022, both countries signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of tourism.

Commercial relations between both communist regimes have experienced a tenuous turmoil in recent times, with more announcements of intentions than concrete projects. Despite ideological harmony, Chinese businessmen are not usually attracted to partners who do not honor their commitments.

At the end of April it was known that the Chinese wholesale company Nihao53, managed by Leke Holding Group, consolidated its presence in Cuba by expanding its operations and establishing new commercial links with state companies and local enterprises.

However, the news that Cubans hear the most about the Asian giant is related to its famous "rice donations," such as the one sent at the beginning of April in response to the food crisis in Cuba.

At the end of last September, China donated more than 114 million dollars to the Cuban regime to install 22 photovoltaic parks. Popular unrest due to the constant interruptions of the electricity supply is permanent and has caused multiple protests throughout the country.

That year, in addition, China made several donations to Cuba, destined for prioritized sectors on the island. In January 2023, the government of Xi Jinping He gave his ally a sum of 100 million dollars for social impact projects, which were not specified.

The other side of Cuba and China relations

However, the official media has not given special coverage (except to deny) the reports that revealed that Cuba had granted permission to China to build an electronic surveillance and espionage facility on the island, located about 90 miles south of Florida.

In exchange for allowing the use of its territory, the Cuban government would collect billions of dollars at a time of dramatic economic crisis like the one the island is going through, revealed an article published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Analysts estimated that a Chinese base with advanced military and intelligence capabilities so close to the United States could unleash an unprecedented threat.

“While I cannot speak to this specific report, we are very aware of the PRC's efforts to invest in infrastructure around the world that may serve military purposes, including in this hemisphere,” he said. John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, in a statement released by press agencies.

“We monitor it closely, take countermeasures and are confident that we can meet all our security commitments at home, in the region and around the world,” he added. For his part, the Cuban-American senator Marco Rubio considered that “the threat to the United States from Cuba is not only real, it is much worse than this.”

The decision to exempt visas for Chinese citizensIn addition to promoting tourist trips from that country, it can serve as cover for the strategic military purposes of the Asian superpower.