14ymedio, Havana, 4 April 2024 — A donation of 68 tons of rice from China landed this Wednesday at the José Martí International Airport in Havana. The aid is part of a program to send a total of 408 tons of the product this April to the Island – 1% of the 36,000 tons consumed per month – distributed over six flights, and another 20,000 tons throughout the year by sea.
The Cuban authorities, who met with several representatives of China to receive the shipment, said that the rice will be delivered “immediately” to the population. This, along with the arrival by air of the first tons of the grain – and not by sea, as usual – shows that the “aid program” is an urgent measure to alleviate the Island’s food crisis, something in which Beijing seems to be willing to collaborate.
The official press also reported that China will send donations of powdered milk and flour – two of the products whose disappearance from the Cuban markets has forced the authorities to offer statements on several occasions – although the quantities were not revealed.
The urgency of the aid, however, was disguised by Deputy Prime Minister Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca and the Chinese ambassador to the Island
The urgency of the aid, however, was disguised by Deputy Prime Minister Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca and the Chinese ambassador to the Island, Ma Hui, who, far from alluding to the critical economic situation of the country, said that it was a “sincere display” of Beijing’s appreciation for Havana, which has become a “plan of assistance to the Cuban people.”
The Chinese delegation, however, made it clear that it intends to protect its interests in Cuba, something to which the regime will have to respond if it intends to