China has been spying from Cuba for some time, U.S. official says

China has been spying from Cuba for immoderate clip and upgraded its quality postulation facilities determination successful 2019, a Biden medication authoritative said connected Saturday, pursuing a study astir a caller spying effort underway connected the island.

The Wall Street Journal connected Thursday reported that China had reached a concealed woody with Cuba to found an physics eavesdropping installation connected the land astir 100 miles (160 km) from Florida, but the U.S. and Cuban governments formed beardown uncertainty connected the report.

The Biden medication official, speaking connected information of anonymity, said the media's characterization "does not comport with our understanding," but did not specify however the study was incorrect nor code successful item whether determination were efforts by China to physique a caller eavesdropping installation successful Cuba.

The authoritative said the contented predated Joe Biden's presidency, arsenic had Beijing's efforts to fortify its quality postulation infrastructure worldwide.

"This is an ongoing issue, and not a caller development," the authoritative said. "The PRC (People's Republic of China) conducted an upgrade of its quality postulation facilities successful Cuba successful 2019. This is well-documented successful the quality record."

Asked for comment, an authoritative astatine China's embassy successful Washington pointed to Friday's connection by a Chinese overseas ministry spokesperson who accused the U.S. of "spreading rumors and slander" with speech of a Cuba spy station, and of being "the astir almighty hacker empire successful the world."

The Cuban authorities did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

On Thursday, Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio dismissed the Journal's study arsenic "totally mendacious" and called it a U.S. fabrication meant to warrant Washington's decades-old economical embargo against the island.

He said Cuba rejects each overseas subject beingness successful Latin America and the Caribbean.

Attention surrounding alleged Chinese spying from Cuba comes arsenic Washington and Beijing are taking tentative steps to soothe tensions that spiked aft a suspected Chinese high-altitude spy balloon crossed the United States earlier the U.S. subject changeable it down disconnected the East Coast successful February.

That includes a travel to China that U.S. officials accidental Secretary of State Antony Blinken is readying for June 18. Washington's apical diplomat had earlier scrapped the sojourn implicit the spy balloon incident.

The Biden medication authoritative said that contempt the erstwhile medication of Donald Trump being alert of the Chinese basing effort successful Cuba and making immoderate attempts to code the challenge, "we were not making capable advancement and needed a much nonstop approach."

The authoritative said U.S. diplomats had engaged governments that were considering hosting Chinese bases and had exchanged accusation with them.

"Our experts measure that our diplomatic efforts person slowed the PRC down," the authoritative said. "We deliberation the PRC isn't rather wherever they had hoped to be."