Cuba's Mariel port seeks China push

MARIEL, CUBA - These days, giant Chinese-built cranes briskly unload shipping containers from cargo ships at Cuba's deep-water port of Mariel, a fledgling special economic zone the country hopes will drive development over the coming years.

With 2015 bilateral trade surpassing $2 billion, China is Cuba's second largest trading partner behind Venezuela. It is now playing a key role in helping the Caribbean island country to make Mariel live up to its promise.

The Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co, a global leader in port equipment, has provided the Mariel Container Terminal with four ship-to-shore gantry cranes, 12 rubber-tiered gantry cranes and two rail-mounted gantry cranes.