Cuba Announces Integration into Chinese Payment System

[Deuce]

That is alarming.

I've been predicting for years (as well as many others of course) that at some point in time, there will come a currency that will replace the US Dollar as the world reserve currency, and it looks like that is happening.

I incorrectly predicted that the new currency would be backed with gold, and not be fiat.

Probably will accelerate given the US alienating its allies lately

 

[Risky Thicket]

Is this reminiscent of Saddam Hussein accepting Euros for oil?

"HAVANA TIMES – Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga, Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, informed government media on September 7, 2025, that the island’s banks will integrate into the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). The system is designed by China as an alternative to SWIFT for conducting international payments in Chinese yuan, and that the use of this currency will increase in transactions between the two nations."

Cuba Announces Integration into Chinese Payment System - Havana Times

This is not the first time the government has boasted of strong Cuba-China cooperation, only for the Chinese government to later backtrack.

havanatimes.org

I wonder what might be the effect if more and more countries use the Chinese yuan for international payments.

If TACO continues to threaten and attack and piss off South America we will soon find out. Alienation is no path toward peace love and understanding. It is however the policy Trump and his enablers have decided to take. China would be stupid not to take advantage of it.

 

[JohnRawls]

A distinction without a difference. There's no reason why Cuba can't be dealt with. Many countries do.
There's no reason for the embargo against Cuba, if there ever was.

I mean they nationalized US assets from US private individuals, hosted Soviet nuclear missiles, try to spread communist dictatorships in Central and Southern America right now, do not have private property or rule of law. You are forgetting that they supported the likes of Chavez and Maduro in Venezuela and I think also sent some troops to supress riots in the country when Maduro was in trouble during the previous "elections". They also trained and supplied the FARC until the 90s-20s when Fidel changed his mind.

They are not exactly a friendly country.

 

[Grand Mal]

I mean they nationalized US assets from US private individuals, hosted Soviet nuclear missiles, try to spread communist dictatorships in Central and Southern America right now, do not have private property or rule of law. You are forgetting that they supported the likes of Chavez and Maduro in Venezuela and I think also sent some troops to supress riots in the country when Maduro was in trouble during the previous "elections". They also trained and supplied the FARC until the 90s-20s when Fidel changed his mind.

They are not exactly a friendly country.

History. How many Americans died fighting in Vietnam? But that was different, I guess. It's okay to make deals with the heirs of the Viet Cong now.
Yeah, Castro nationalised United Fruit properties, and confiscated Mafia properties in Havana, but he was driven into the arms of Moscow by the American trade embargo.
One thing the embargo did do though- it made Cuba a wonderful tourist destination. It's amazing the difference it makes when all the tourists are Canadians or Europeans. Been awhile though since we were there and my wife tells me they're having big problems now.
One would think that there's so many reasons to get on a friendly basis with Cuba that it's a no-brainer but American foreign policy has never been known for far-sightedness, has it.

 

[JohnRawls]

History. How many Americans died fighting in Vietnam? But that was different, I guess. It's okay to make deals with the heirs of the Viet Cong now.
Yeah, Castro nationalised United Fruit properties, and confiscated Mafia properties in Havana, but he was driven into the arms of Moscow by the American trade embargo.
One thing the embargo did do though- it made Cuba a wonderful tourist destination. It's amazing the difference it makes when all the tourists are Canadians or Europeans. Been awhile though since we were there and my wife tells me they're having big problems now.
One would think that there's so many reasons to get on a friendly basis with Cuba that it's a no-brainer but American foreign policy has never been known for far-sightedness, has it.

Cuba is not a friendly country to the US by itself. It is a hostile regime that props dictatorships and anti-americanism in central and south America.

Why on this god green earth would America want to be friendly to Cuba when Cuba is not friendly to US?

 

[Tigerace117]

China and Vietnam are not really communist economically anymore. Politically they are under a Leninist one party rule. Although China has slipped back in to autocracy/dictatorship as of late with Xi.

Cuba is economically still communist and politically not even under a one party rule but basically under a dictatorial rule.

@Tigerace117 Not really. First of all it was a diferent time and second of all, there were no alignment with Mao or Khmer Rogues. Some US actions did benefit the Khmer Rogues though by supporting the general alliance that Khmer Rogues were part of against Vietnam.

The U.S. literally had joint intelligence bases set up in Xinjiang with China. The PRC is the only country other than the UK portrayed as standing alongside the U.S. in Red Dawn.

What “general alliance”? It was China, the US, and the spectacularly corrupt pseudo fascist Thai junta which allowed the Khmer Rouge safe haven.

 

[Tigerace117]

Cuba is not a friendly country to the US by itself. It is a hostile regime that props dictatorships and anti-americanism in central and south America.

Why on this god green earth would America want to be friendly to Cuba when Cuba is not friendly to US?

Sounds like the U.S. shouldn’t have brutally exploited Cuba as a pseudo colony and then spent the next fifty years sponsoring terrorist attacks against them.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff literally signed off on a false flag attack to bomb an American city, killing who knows how many American civilians, just to “justify” an invasion of Cuba.

 

[Tigerace117]

I mean they nationalized US assets from US private individuals, hosted Soviet nuclear missiles, try to spread communist dictatorships in Central and Southern America right now, do not have private property or rule of law. You are forgetting that they supported the likes of Chavez and Maduro in Venezuela and I think also sent some troops to supress riots in the country when Maduro was in trouble during the previous "elections". They also trained and supplied the FARC until the 90s-20s when Fidel changed his mind.

They are not exactly a friendly country.

I can think of at least a half a dozen regimes the U.S. backed in Latin America alone that were far worse than Castro’s Cuba.

Stroessner in Paraguay was an open psychopath who happily listened on the phone as the local communist party leader was disemboweled via chainsaw(and volunteered to send Paraguayan troops to Vietnam), Banzer in Bolivia was an outright drug dealer, as was Noriega in Panama, Rios Montt in Guatemala carried out the bloodiest part of the genocide there, the American backed juntas in El Salvador committed over ninety percent of the atrocities during the civil war there, including murdering Archbishop Romero….

And that isn’t even getting into stuff like the “Perfect Dictatorship” in Mexico, the Duvaliers in Haiti, Pinochet in Chile…..

 

[Fearandloathing]

No, you have an agreement that you can't physically invade Cuba because of the Cuban missile crysis. You can't take them in to your umbrella since they are communist. How do you even make a deal with communists?

Easy. You talk to them, trade with them...

Please read this:

Canada–Cuba relations - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Canada is Cuba's largest trading partner and we're proud of that. I spent two weeks there in 03, had the time of my life. There were no more police than in Mexico, and just like Mexico they carried automatic rifles. Further Cuba is a Medical tourism destination favored by Europeans, Americans and Canadians. The music is terrific, a blend of ska, old calypso and traditional rock

They don't have horns, are not green skinned, are very happy and generous people. And you can stop being terrified of the word "communist".

you can't blame any one there for being anti-American. You DID try to invade them! The US has been trampling on their economy since JFK's grand delusion. The treatment by the US can easily be compared to how the USSR treats it neighbors.

They kicked your ass. A lot of people around the world respect that.

 

[Fearandloathing]

History. How many Americans died fighting in Vietnam? But that was different, I guess. It's okay to make deals with the heirs of the Viet Cong now.
Yeah, Castro nationalised United Fruit properties, and confiscated Mafia properties in Havana, but he was driven into the arms of Moscow by the American trade embargo.
One thing the embargo did do though- it made Cuba a wonderful tourist destination. It's amazing the difference it makes when all the tourists are Canadians or Europeans. Been awhile though since we were there and my wife tells me they're having big problems now.
One would think that there's so many reasons to get on a friendly basis with Cuba that it's a no-brainer but American foreign policy has never been known for far-sightedness, has it.

Actually the presence of Canadians and Europeans is very calming and jovial. I visited four times over five years. (one thing you DO NOT do is lay out in the sun).

 

[gman]

Politics, politics, politics. Imagine losing Florida and the presidential election because you went against the Cuban diaspora in greater Miami.

 

[Grand Mal]

Cuba is not a friendly country to the US by itself. It is a hostile regime that props dictatorships and anti-americanism in central and south America.

Cuba props dictatorships in Latin America? What year is this?
Cuba was a dictator-propping force when they were part of the Soviet Union foreign policy, back when there were first, second and third-world countries. Been a long time since a Cuban soldier was on foreign soil. Angola might be the last.
Anti-Americanism? You have a very high estimate of Cuba's influence nowadays.

Why on this god green earth would America want to be friendly to Cuba when Cuba is not friendly to US?

No reason at all. You're right. Wait for Cuba to get friendly. Makes perfect sense.
Or, might be an opportunity lost. Lost to inadequate, incompetent diplomatic skill. And juvenile schoolyard tribalism.

 

[Grand Mal]

Actually the presence of Canadians and Europeans is very calming and jovial. I visited four times over five years. (one thing you DO NOT do is lay out in the sun).

It's amazing the difference in the atmosphere everywhere you go. We rented a car (driving in Havana can be, uh, stimulating) and hit the road and everywhere we went the tourists were, as you say, jovial, and the locals were welcoming, being used to getting respect from the tourists.
A fond memory is staying in a casa particulaire in Trinidad, a very old town on the west coast, at Easter, and our hostess, Marelli, warned us that it was too cold for swimming! She took us under her wing and cautioned us, from her Catholic morality, to stay away from the hotel beaches because the European women were topless!

 

[Absentglare]

In a global context, the Cuban GDP is insignificant and Cuba conducting Trade with China using the Yuan as the instrument of trade is equally insignificant.

If India, Russia, or UAE get on board with using CIPS for trade, then yeah, that would be a game changer.

YTD, the US dollar is down 10% and the Euro is up 13.7%.

Thanks Trump!

 

[Metric Mouse]

In other news, Cuba's national language is Spanish...

What happens if more and more countries start speaking Spanish instead of English!!!

Cuba leading the way!!!


This worry is dumb. Their GDP is the same as West Virginia's... so as long as WV still uses the dollar, we good fam.

 

[Metric Mouse]

YTD, the US dollar is down 10% and the Euro is up 13.7%.

Thanks Trump!

It's never good to have similar economic numbers and dollar values as we did during Biden's term.

Trump will never be elected president again. Thankfully.

 

[Metric Mouse]

Canada is Cuba's largest trading partner and we're proud of that.

Canada is only Cuba's fourth largest trading partner.

So it can't be that proud if people routinely get the facts wrong.

 

[Fearandloathing]

It's amazing the difference in the atmosphere everywhere you go. We rented a car (driving in Havana can be, uh, stimulating) and hit the road and everywhere we went the tourists were, as you say, jovial, and the locals were welcoming, being used to getting respect from the tourists.
A fond memory is staying in a casa particulaire in Trinidad, a very old town on the west coast, at Easter, and our hostess, Marelli, warned us that it was too cold for swimming! She took us under her wing and cautioned us, from her Catholic morality, to stay away from the hotel beaches because the European women were topless!

"Alberta" a large, black Caribbean woman once advised me not to swim in the ocean as it was too cold in the winter.

In the islands "temperature" is entirely relative. But then her son "Jerome" came to Montreal; took him to a Habs game. He had a difficulty understanding "ice" that wasn't a cube. "They put blades on their shoes and go up and down frozen water!

 

[Fearandloathing]

Cuba props dictatorships in Latin America? What year is this?
Cuba was a dictator-propping force when they were part of the Soviet Union foreign policy, back when there were first, second and third-world countries. Been a long time since a Cuban soldier was on foreign soil. Angola might be the last.
Anti-Americanism? You have a very high estimate of Cuba's influence nowadays.

No reason at all. You're right. Wait for Cuba to get friendly. Makes perfect sense.
Or, might be an opportunity lost. Lost to inadequate, incompetent diplomatic skill. And juvenile schoolyard tribalism.

"Lost to inadequate, incompetent diplomatic skill. And juvenile schoolyard tribalism."

That