Cuba’s power grid collapsed last month, leaving 10 million people without power. As time progresses, weeks go by and much of Cuba still continues to face hours-long blackouts on a daily basis. Generators fall 50% short of peak demand, and leave the country in crisis. In time of crisis, Cuba has been looking for help and intervention from other countries to assist in their power grid, and that is when China offered their services and to solve the ongoing crisis. The President of Hangzhou Duojia Technology, Qiaoming Huang, speaks on the Chinese company’s intervention saying, “As we say in China, with a crisis comes opportunity.” Huang’s company is a solar technology from China that has shipped 10 containers of solar panels and lithium batteries. Cuban authorities then announced they would build around 2,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2028. This cooperation between China and Cuba may seem out of the ordinary, but through the trends of past relationships with China and countries and crises, this explains itself.
China has had a trend of assisting countries in need in order to gain leverage and political influence in rising states. This mostly has been through the means of providing infrastructure and technology in areas like Africa, but as this influence creeps its way into the western hemisphere, there may be an increased trend of American intervention in Latin American and South American countries to combat China’s attempt to exert influence. This offer of a helping hand in a time of crisis from China to Cuba shows an integral and crucial new relationship between the two states, but may lead to increased animosity in America towards China. Similar to Russia’s reaction to possibly security threats that Nato presents to them, it is the same for the US. Cuba is less than 100 miles off the coast of Florida, and with the United States biggest adversary less than 100 miles off the coast line, it may create increased tensions.
The concept of Collective Good problems is connected to China’s intervention and assistance in Cuba. Collective Good is the problem of shared interests and conflicting interests. It focuses on how to provide something that benefits all members of the group regardless of what each member contributes to it. Currently China and Cuba’s relationship and actions are in the attempt of having a reciprocity relationship and solution. With China’s involvement and initial investment in Cuba, China may not feel the immediate effect of this initial investment, but it this investment creates a relationship with China, right on the coastline of the United States. Cuba’s geographic position provides China with the perfect position to exhibit its power. This investment while leading with an initial relation, may cause an increase of tensions between China & Cuba and the United States.