Daily Management Review

China invests in Cuban energy sector


10/20/2021


Cuba has signed an agreement on energy cooperation with China as part of the One Belt, One Road programme, the Cuban embassy in China said.



Public Domain Pictures
Public Domain Pictures
The agreement was signed during the One Belt, One Road energy cooperation conference in Qingdao. It provides for the participation of Chinese companies in the modernisation of the Cuban energy sector. Funding for these projects would also come from China. 

Critics of the agreement say these types of infrastructure projects in developing countries increase their debt to China, giving China access to their infrastructure and raw materials, as well as leverage over the countries' governments.

In recent years, China has become the largest trading partner of most Latin American countries, and it has similar energy agreements with several countries in the region, including Venezuela and Bolivia. In recent years, Chinese corporations have bought several major energy companies in the region - for example, in 2019 China's China Yangtze Power International bought Peru's largest electricity supplier Luz del Sur for $3.6bn.

Cuba joined the One Belt, One Road infrastructure agreement back in 2018. Chinese companies are active on the island, and their presence is already visible in many sectors and projects in Cuba.

source: reuters.com