US embargo
Most of China’s donations unable to reach Cuba due to embargoes: Cuban ambassador
More than 30 Chinese enterprises have either donated or supplied anti-virus materials to Cuba since the coronavirus outbreak began, but only a small number of them have successfully arrived in the country, the Cuban Ambassador to China told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.
Ambassador Carlos Miguel Pereira said that the medical supplies previously donated by the Alibaba Foundation to help Cuba combat COVID-19 are still stranded in China due to sanctions imposed by the US.
The Cuban diplomat said that they are currently in close contact with Alibaba to work out other possible plans to solve the problem, including replacing the US company that was responsible for transporting the medical supplies to Cuba. The final arrangements have not yet been decided.
According to the official Weibo account of the Cuban Embassy in China, the Jack Ma foundation and Alibaba Foundation donated medical supplies, including face masks, test kits and respirators, to 24 Latin American countries including Cuba. But these supplies were unable to reach Cuba as scheduled because an American company that was responsible for shipping them rejected the order at the last minute.
« The reason was that the US government tightened its policy of economic, commercial and financial embargoes imposed on Cuba, thereby thwarting the enterprise from shipping the equipment to Cuba despite the fact that these medical supplies are urgently needed to fight the virus, » said the embassy on Weibo.
The post went viral and soon became a trending topic on Weibo, with many Chinese netizens expressing sympathy and support for the country.
TANIKO Madagascar 