We always held this was false, for this 2010 State Department cable (released by Wikileaks) had revealed the Chinese regime's frustrations in doing business with the Castro brothers.
Yet, that didn't stop Cuba "experts" from heralding the next year:
"In a major endorsement for Cuba’s economic reform project, the man expected to become China’s president in 2013 witnessed the signing of 13 agreements in Havana that include the billion-dollar expansion of a refinery, the extension of fresh loans, and an agreement to set a five-year cooperation plan."
Well, so much for that.
According to Reuters today, that bubble (like others before it) has burst:
"People involved in the expansion said more than two years ago China would build and finance the project, with the money backed by Venezuelan oil. But the deal has never taken wings.
Nothing has been disclosed publicly and the Chinese have been mostly silent on the matter. However, sources say China has never signed a final agreement due to questions ranging from Chavez' health to future oil and natural gas supplies to whether the project will be built by Chinese or Cuban workers."
