Cuba Turns to China to Survive
By Francisco Acevedo
HAVANA TIMES – The significant collapse of trade with Venezuela in recent years has had a major impact on the Cuban economy, which is now desperately seeking partners to survive.
Among the few countries with which it still maintains some degree of affinity, excluding Vietnam, which wants little to do with the Cuban dictatorship, the Cuban government has continuously reached out to Russia, Iran, and China, its only remaining true allies.
Mexico and Turkey are also sympathetic governments, but as the term implies, this is a temporary situation in which those currently in power feel some affinity toward Cuba—though elections could change everything drastically.
So we’re left with “the three little ducklings,” to put it humorously. Of the three, the first two have significant problems of their own and can’t provide the support they might wish to.
The Russians are engaged in an apparently endless war to control Ukraine, and the Iranians remain in an unofficial conflict with the United States. Like Venezuela, they are under heavy economic sanctions and thus have little to offer.
That leaves only China as a true global power from which to seek collaboration, and not by coincidence, the recent International Tourism Fair was dedicated to the Asian giant.
The signing of documents with China aims to strengthen ties, encourage investment, and spark interest in multi-destination tourism through the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America—Peoples’ Trade Treaty.
During the event, held from April 30 to May 3, the tourism ministries of Cuba and China signed a memorandum of understanding to boost cooperation in the sector.
Additionally, two letters of intent were signed to negotiate lease contracts for the Copacabana Hotel, involving the Cuban state corporation Cubanacan S.A. and the Chinese companies Hainergy New Energy Corp., LTD and Hong Jianghua International Hotel Management Co., Ltd.
From China’s side, this is part of its “New Silk Road” strategy, aimed at reviving China’s global ties. In Latin America, the Cuban market could contribute to leisure and vacation routes with multiple stops in a single trip, much like cruise tourism.
Since May 2024, a direct flight route has connected Havana and Beijing, fostering the arrival of tourists from China to the island, though the numbers remain modest.
Several luxury hotels in Havana have even started including Chinese cuisine options in their dining services to attract clients.
According to the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), 26,760 visitors from China arrived in 2024. That represents the highest growth rate of any tourism market compared to the previous year, up 148.6%, from 18,003 visitors in 2023.
This still only ranks 14th globally by number of visitors to Cuba, but the increase in traffic could become significant if the trend continues.
Beyond bringing tourists to the domestic market, Cuba’s geographic location could make it a gateway to multi-destination travel in the Caribbean. That’s why tourism officials from the Bolivarian Alliance member countries participated in the fair.
The regional bloc, which includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Dominica, Grenada, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, and Venezuela, committed to promoting easier visa processes to allow Chinese tourists to travel throughout the region with fewer obstacles.
Still pending are the design of attractive tourism packages, the creation of strategic alliances, improved marketing and promotion, and guarantees of service quality along with better logistics and connectivity, in hopes of boosting multi-destination tourism.
For Cuba specifically, this is a breath of fresh air. The former engine of the economy—tourism—has been in steady decline since the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the rest of the world has fully recovered.
As of March, Cuba had received 759,641 travelers, 77.3% of the figure for the same period in 2024, including 571,772 international visitors, representing just 70.7% of the previous year’s total.
That’s nearly a quarter-million fewer visitors than during the same period the previous year, a trend that is increasingly worrying, since not even Russian tourists can make up the shortfall.
This week, a Cuban delegation is participating in the 33rd Guangzhou International Travel Fair, part of a continuing strategy to showcase the country’s tourism offerings in Asia.
Cuba eliminated the visa requirement for Chinese citizens last year. However, the Chinese embassy recently reminded its nationals to take certain precautions while in Cuba, particularly regarding safety concerns.
China has just approved visa waivers for five Latin American countries, which will take effect on June 1 and last for one year. However, the waiver does not yet apply to Cuban nationals, who can still obtain visas for free, but are nonetheless required to have one.
Beyond tourism, bilateral exchanges are growing in areas such as culture, transportation, science, academia, sports, and other sectors of society.
Chinese entrepreneurs have also established businesses in Cuba selling food, clothing, footwear, household appliances, and transportation equipment, sometimes in partnership with Cuban companies.
A holding company model is also being used, with Cuban firms marketing Chinese goods ranging from solar panels to sports equipment.
However, the approval of credit is not going smoothly, largely due to Cuba’s repeated payment defaults. Nonetheless, Cuban diplomats continue to push for credit as a way to mitigate the island’s deep, widespread crisis.
China’s self-sufficiency and willingness to collaborate represent the lifeline that Cuba’s upper echelons are clinging to, at a time when they are losing credibility in every sense.