Published Friday, 6 November, 4:55 a.m. ET · Source: Chinese Foreign Ministry; US Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
Beijing has told Washington to keep its sanctions away from China’s trade with Cuba. On Friday, 6 November, China’s Foreign Ministry vowed to protect two Chinese firms the United States blacklisted a day earlier.
The clash widens the pressure we track on our Cuba news hub. Our explainer on Cuba US tensions shows how the dispute began.
Key Facts
- What happened: China said on Friday it will take “all necessary measures” to protect firms hit by new US sanctions over Cuba.
- Who: The Treasury listed China National Electronic Import-Export Company (CEIEC), a state trader, and Beijing H&C Technologies, an electronics wholesaler.
- Why it matters: Washington is now sanctioning Chinese suppliers to Cuba, which adds a US–China strand to the Cuba dispute.
- What next: Beijing named no countermeasures. Watch for any Chinese retaliation or new US listings.
- Prediction markets: Polymarket, a prediction market, 4:43 a.m. ET, 6 Nov: a bet that Cuba’s government falls in 2026, 4.5% (US$1.9 million traded).
This story is part of our coverage of the cuba news. Dates, times and how to follow it are in our guide.
In plain English
The US blocks the assets of companies it lists and bars Americans from dealing with them. China says Washington has no right to punish Chinese firms for trading with Cuba.
Beijing Says Washington Is Sabotaging Its Cuba Ties
Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun answered at a regular news briefing in Beijing. “China firmly opposes US interference in and sabotage of China–Cuba cooperation,” he said.
He called the sanctions illegal and an example of “long-arm jurisdiction,” meaning one country applying its laws to firms abroad. Guo added that Beijing would take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its businesses.
He gave no list of measures and no time for the briefing has been reported. We found no reply yet from the two firms or from Havana.
What the US Sanctions List Shows
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces US sanctions, published the changes on Thursday, 5 November. Its Cuba entries came with a State Department notice titled “Further Sanctions on the Cuban Regime’s Foreign Military Support and Illicit Revenue Networks.”
Two Chinese firms are named. China National Electronic Import-Export Company (CEIEC), a state-owned trader founded in 1980, was already on the list over Venezuela, and OFAC now adds a Cuba tag.
Beijing H&C Technologies is new to the list. OFAC describes it as a Beijing wholesaler of electronic and telecoms equipment, founded in 2003, and marks it state-owned, although some reports call it private.
A Wider Package Aimed at Cuba’s Economy
OFAC also listed two Cubans and five more companies, four of them Cuban. They include Tecnosime, a state company that supports oil and gas extraction, and Cubaelectrónica, a state electronics wholesaler.
It added two Cuban-flagged tankers, Emilia and Gloria C, and tagged three more tankers and shipper Caroil Transport Marine under its Cuba programme. One person listed is Any Rodríguez Lastres, whom OFAC links to Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera.
OFAC also published a determination on the “Electronics, Manufacturing, Marine, and Technology Sectors of the Cuban Economy.” It rests on Executive Order 14404, which President Donald Trump signed on 1 May, and lets the Treasury target firms working in those sectors, including foreign ones. We have not read its full text.
What It Means for US Readers
The listing is the clearest sign yet that Washington will sanction Chinese suppliers over Cuba. US banks, insurers and shippers must freeze any property of the listed firms and avoid dealing with them.
The main losers are the listed Chinese and Cuban traders, who lose access to dollars. The main risk is escalation: an unspecified Chinese response could pull US–China tension into the Caribbean.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Polymarket, where users bet real money on outcomes, the market “Cuban regime falls in 2026?” stood at 4.5% at 4:43 a.m. ET on 6 November. About US$1.9 million has been traded, and we found no active Kalshi market on the question.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Is Not Known
We do not know what Beijing will do beyond its warning, or whether OFAC will give the firms time to wind down. Washington accuses the Chinese firms of supplying Cuba’s military, and the evidence has not been made public.
More: Cuba news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did China respond to the US sanctions on Cuba?
Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun called the sanctions illegal “long-arm jurisdiction” and said China opposes US “sabotage” of its Cuba ties. He said Beijing would take “all necessary measures” to protect its companies, without saying what they are.
Which Chinese companies did the US target?
The Treasury’s sanctions office added Beijing H&C Technologies to its blocked list and attached a Cuba tag to CEIEC, which was already listed over Venezuela. Both trade in electronics and telecoms equipment.
Sources: US Treasury OFAC, recent actions of 5 November 2026; China’s Foreign Ministry press briefing of 6 November 2026; Polymarket (Cuban regime falls in 2026?).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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