Cuba Gets Debt Assistance From China, Hurricane Relief - Asia Financial

China has agreed to restructure indebtedness owed by Cuba and supply caller commercialized and concern credits to the troubled Caribbean federation aft a gathering successful Beijing betwixt heads of the 2 communist nations.

Cuba Economy Minister Alejandro Gil said China had donated $100 cardinal to assistance the state header with shortages of basal goods and an vigor situation worsened by Hurricane Ian, which decimated occidental Pinar del Rio state 2 months ago.

Gil spoke with authoritative media travelling with President Miguel Diaz-Canel aft returning location connected the play from a circuit of Algeria, Russia, Turkey and China.

Chinese commercialized and concern has slowed successful caller years owed to Cuba’s nonaccomplishment to conscionable restructured indebtedness payments according to analysts and diplomats, a concern worsened by tighter US sanctions, the pandemic and home economical inefficiencies.

“We are going to find mutually acceptable formulas for the ordering and restructuring of debts,” Gil said.

Analysts estimation that Cuba’s indebtedness is successful the billions of dollars, though nary authoritative figures are available. Cuba past reported its overseas indebtedness successful 2019 astatine $19.6 billion.

China is Cuba’s astir important commercialized spouse aft Venezuela, though commercialized has declined from implicit $2 cardinal successful 2017 to $1.3 cardinal past year, according to the Cuban government.

Various concern projects person besides crushed to a halt. Gil said China had agreed to rapidly implicit a floating dock, upwind powerfulness and star vigor project, among others.

President Diaz-Canel told the authoritative media aft talks successful Beijing that indebtedness was astatine the apical of his docket with President Xi Jinping who sympathized with the difficulties Cuba was going through.

The Cuban president said his Chinese counterpart indicated “a solution indispensable beryllium recovered to each the problems with Cuba, careless of the debt, and that this cannot beryllium what limits development.”

• Reuters with further editing by Jim Pollard

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