The Global Times, a Chinese government propaganda newspaper, dismissed a Wall Street Journal report accusing Beijing of setting up a “spy base” in Cuba as an attempt to sabotage a rumored visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China this month.
The state newspaper, which serves as a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, mocked the report as an “old-fashioned and crappy … script” fabricated by anti-Chinese actors within the U.S. government and a repeat of outrage surrounding the invasion of American airspace by a Chinese vessel in January later identified as a “spy balloon.” The administration of President Joe Biden allowed the balloon to cross the continental United States, reportedly collecting intelligence over sensitive military sites, before shooting it down in Atlantic waters.
In this photo provided by Chad Fish, the remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, February 4, 2023. (Chad Fish via AP)
Blinken was scheduled to travel to China in February — according to reports unconfirmed by both China and the Biden administration – but reportedly canceled the trip amid the “spy balloon” scandal. Chinese officials refused to concern that Blinken had canceled the trip on the grounds that no visit was ever confirmed.
Similarly, multiple reports, including in the Global Times, began surfacing last week claiming that Blinken had rescheduled the alleged February visit for mid-June. The Chinese Foreign Ministry refused to confirm those reports last week and again neither confirmed nor denied them during its regular press briefing on Monday.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on June 12, 2023. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People’s Republic of China)
As rumors of Blinken’s return to China surfaced, the Wall Street Journal published a report based on anonymous sources last week claiming that China and the Cuban Communist Party had come to an agreement that would allow Beijing to operate a “spy base” on the island.
“Officials familiar with the matter said that China has agreed to pay cash-strapped Cuba several billion dollars to allow it to build the eavesdropping station, and that the two countries had reached an agreement in principle,” the newspaper reported. “Officials declined to provide more details about the proposed location of the listening station or whether construction had begun.”
First, it was a Chinese spy balloon.
Now, it’s a Chinese spy base.
Didn’t happen under President Trump.
But happening now under President Biden. https://t.co/XlBcr4DAfB
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) June 8, 2023
Cuba and China both vehemently denied the report. White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby called the report “not accurate” on Thursday, despite being quoted in the report himself.
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On Saturday, anonymous alleged Biden administration sources “confirmed” to the Associated Press and Spanish newswire service EFE that China was operating a spy base under the Castro regime since at least 2019. EFE reported that the White House “declassified” information Biden received following his inauguration in 2020 that China had “renovated” an “intelligence-gathering installation” on the island of Cuba in 2019. The AP reported that an unnamed Biden administration official said “China conducted an upgrade of its spying operation on the island in 2019.”
While corporate American media reports used the report to indicate that the Cuban spy base was a problem unaddressed under the administration of former President Donald Trump – and the official speaking to EFE explicitly described it as an “inherited” Trump administration problem – the use of terms such as “renovate” and “upgrade” suggested the site had been in Cuba for some time and was old enough to require upgrades – potentially dating back to the Castro-friendly Obama administration, when Biden served as vice president.
The Chinese Global Times repeated its assertion that the spy base was a “rumor” on Saturday, following the updated reports claiming the base had been there for at least four years. This time, the state mouthpiece insisted that the U.S. government, through its anonymous sources, was trying to sabotage itself – or, namely, Antony Blinken – in an attempt to disrupt any potential thaw in relations between Washington and Beijing.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane at Hanoi Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, April 16, 2023, to travel to Japan for the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
“It is obvious that some people in the US want to spoil the possible visit again, and the White House’s subsequent performance is not so much refuting the rumor, but a rumor-style explanation,” the Global Times editorial accused, while refusing to confirm any such visit. The state publication claimed that there was “a direct and close relationship” between the Cuba story and Blinken’s potential visit.
“If there hadn’t been a round of hype about the “balloon incident” in the US in February, the current show might have a little more novelty,” the editorial continued, “The US side has always directed and acted by itself, and this time the screenwriter has added some new exciting elements, but the script as a whole is still old-fashioned and crappy.”
It went on to justify China refusing to publicly discuss a potential Blinken visit by claiming that American “uncertainty” around such a plan could go on to embarrass China if Blinken cancels his trip again.
“We are not afraid to speculate with the greatest malice about some American radical politicians,” the Global Times concluded. “The White House has a motive to exploit and manipulate this incident to create an issue before Blinken’s visit to China, ensuring that it takes the initiative against China without losing control.”
Like the state newspaper, the Chinese Foreign Ministry condemned the report on its presence in Cuba again on Monday, though it did not directly accuse American government sources of attempting to sabotage the Blinken trip. On the potential visit, spokesman Wang Wenbin simply replied, “I have nothing to share.”
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