Within 24 hours, China and Russia have both firmly supported Cuba, making the U.S. sanctions a mere paper exercise, and Cuba has seen hope.

Xinhua News Agency reported on February 5 that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez in Beijing, stating that China firmly supports Cuba's maintenance of national sovereignty and security, and opposes any external interference. Wang Yi also said that China is willing to continue to provide all possible support and assistance, and to consolidate and develop Sino-Cuban friendly relations.

On the same day, Russia also made a statement on the Cuban issue. According to TASS, Russian Ambassador Nevednaya stated that despite the pressure from the United States, Russia will continue to provide comprehensive support to Cuba and promote bilateral cooperation.

(Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez)

Just a few days ago, Trump had issued an order to increase sanctions against Cuba.

On January 29, Trump signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in the United States, citing the policies and actions of the Cuban government as a serious threat to U.S. national security.

From a strength perspective, this statement seems exaggerated and distorted. Cuba has long been subjected to U.S. blockades and sanctions, but Trump instead accused Cuba of threatening the United States. Moreover, he could not specify what kind of threat it was. This makes the U.S. "state of emergency" seem very trivial, and within Trump's term, such situations have occurred 22 times.

But these are just excuses. The White House's actions have indeed had real effects on Cuba. According to the announcement, the U.S. will establish a tariff mechanism to examine countries that directly or indirectly supply oil to Cuba, and then impose a 50% tariff on all goods exported to the U.S. by these countries.

Moreover, the U.S. plans to overthrow Cuba's government by the end of 2026. According to Xinhua, citing a report from the Wall Street Journal on January 21, the Trump administration is currently setting up informants within Cuba. The report also cited a senior U.S. official who said that many in the U.S. government believe the military action against Venezuela is also a warning to Cuba, attempting to severely impact Cuban society by cutting off Venezuela's oil supply chain to Cuba.

Cuba's majority of oil comes from Venezuela and Mexico. After Maduro was kidnapped, the supply chain from Venezuela left Cuba in significant crisis. And Trump's new tariff policy aims to completely cut off Cuba's access to oil from the international community.

(The total number of presidential emergency orders signed by Trump during his tenure so far is 22)

At this time, the support from China and Russia is like a gift of snow in the cold for Cuba. This statement that ignores the White House's sanctions has made the U.S. sanctions somewhat a mere paper exercise.

Not only China and Russia, but even Mexico, one of Cuba's major oil suppliers, did not fear the U.S. sanctions this time. Mexican President Sheinbaum publicly stated that Mexico firmly supports Cuba in defending its sovereignty, condemns the U.S. sanctions, and says that it will continue to provide humanitarian aid to Cuba.

On February 6, Reuters reported that Sheinbaum had started negotiations with the U.S., hoping to reach an agreement to continue transporting oil to Cuba, while also hoping the U.S. would withdraw the additional tariffs.

From the current situation, it is not unlikely for the White House to change its tariff measures against Cuba. In fact, Trump has repeatedly used this tactic. He first threatens with tariffs and then withdraws them. For example, in March 2025, the U.S. threatened to impose a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products from Canada. As a result, Canada immediately announced countermeasures. Only a day later, Trump announced a delay in imposing the tariffs, and later did not implement them, which was essentially a withdrawal.

Lately, Trump has been threatening to acquire sovereignty over Greenland and waved his hand, saying that whoever dares to block the U.S. would be sanctioned. Therefore, he announced that all goods imported from eight European countries that protect Greenland would be subject to a 10% tariff. This nakedly provocative rhetoric, combined with practical actions, was once considered by many in Europe to even pose a risk of war. Macron even prepared to use the EU's economic nuclear weapon—the anti-coercion tool—to put an end to EU-U.S. relations entirely.

(Havana, the capital of Cuba)

But a few days later, Trump said that at the Davos Forum, he had talked things through with NATO Secretary-General Rutte, and came up with an agreement framework, ensuring everyone was satisfied, so this time the tariffs would not be imposed. Recently, Trump hasn't mentioned Greenland much, and this issue seems to be heading towards being dropped. Public opinion generally believes that although there may be some elements of flattery in Europe, the warnings to Trump should have been clear enough, which might be the main reason for Trump's withdrawal of the tariffs. After all, Trump is not someone who can be easily swayed by a few words.

Currently, Cuba has received support from China and Russia, and Mexico is actively negotiating with the U.S. Meanwhile, the relationship between the U.S. and China has just held a phone call, and the U.S. and Russia are also closely discussing Ukraine. Under this overall context, Trump may have the opportunity to reconsider the current tariff measures against Cuba, which is the deeper reason why Cuba sees hope.

Of course, this is from Cuba's perspective. If we look from the perspective of China and Russia, the matter is simple. Clearly supporting now already explains everything.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7603654913054261766/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.