China denounces new US sanctions on Cuba that include two Chinese firms

China has condemned the latest United States sanctions on Cuba, calling the move sabotage after Washington added two Chinese companies to its sanctions list. The measures, announced on Thursday and denounced by Beijing on Friday, focus on Cuba's oil and technology sectors. The dispute adds a new layer to an already tense pressure campaign on the island and to wider US-China friction.

According to the supplied report, the companies named are CEIEC and Beijing H&C Technologies. Washington accuses them of selling defence material and security systems to Cuba. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, identified in the report as Jiakun, said China would take all necessary measures to safeguard the interests of its companies on the Caribbean island.

The statement was presented as a direct response to the latest sanctions package. The new restrictions come after months of stepped-up US pressure on Cuba. Since January, the United States has imposed tough sanctions and an oil blockade on the country, which the report says has paralysed the economy and triggered widespread blackouts and shortages.

The latest package extends that campaign into sectors seen as central to Cuba's ability to function, while also reaching into Chinese commercial interests. The inclusion of Chinese firms makes the dispute more significant than a bilateral US-Cuba issue. It places Beijing directly in the middle of Washington's sanctions strategy and raises the risk of further diplomatic friction between the two powers.

It also highlights how Cuba's economic isolation is increasingly tied to broader geopolitical competition, rather than only to long-running disputes over the island's political system. The report also says Donald Trump has suggested the possibility of a military intervention to remove the Communist Party that governs Cuba. That remark, if pursued as policy, would mark a further escalation in rhetoric around the island.

For now, the immediate issue is the sanctions list and the response from Beijing, which has framed the move as an attack on legitimate business ties. What remains unclear is whether China will announce concrete retaliatory steps or whether the dispute will stay at the level of diplomatic protest. It is also not clear how the newly targeted companies will be affected operationally, or whether additional firms could be added in future rounds.

The next developments to watch are any formal US explanation of the sanctions, any Chinese countermeasures, and whether Cuba's already strained economy faces further pressure.

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