Havana, Cuba – China delivered about 15,000 tons of rice to the port of Havana on Saturday, helping to alleviate a widespread food insecurity crisis which has been brought on by the US' blockade of Cuba.
The delivery of 15,600 tons of rice to Cuba by China is but the first in a series of several shipments Beijing has promised will bring crucial supplies of food and other essential goods to the beleaguered nation.
It has been made necessary by the Trump administration's brutal blockade of the country, which has effectively cut Cuba off from any source of oil under the threat of punishing tariffs.
Reports indicate that shortages of food, medicine, and fuel caused by the anti-Cuba policies of successive US administrations have "killed a lot of babies" and triggered the worst humanitarian crisis "in the island's contemporary history."
In response, China has joined countries like Mexico and Canada in sending Havana crucial humanitarian aid.
"This noble gesture of solidarity will reach millions of consumers throughout all the provinces, in addition to our health and education institutions," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a statement on social media.
"This important shipment, which arrived on Saturday at the Port of Havana, marks the beginning of a new donation totaling 60,000 tons, which will gradually arrive in our Homeland," Diaz-Canel said in Spanish.
Chinese ambassador to Cuba Hua Xin declared on national television that the deliveries were the largest that China has sent to Cuba "in recent years."
"15,600 tons of rice donated by the Chinese government have arrived!" Hua wrote on X. "Helping the Cuban people struggling with hardship! Cuba is not alone!"