The Cuban National Defense Council met on Saturday and reviewed and approved plans and measures for the country's transition to a 'state of war', according to a statement released on the official website of the Cuban Presidential Palace.
The meeting was held under the purpose of enhancing and improving the combat readiness and coordination capabilities of command organizations at all levels and relevant personnel, and served as "part of the country's preparation under the strategic concept of the War of the Entire People", said the statement.
It comes amid heightened tensions between Cuba and the United States after the U.S. launched large-scale military strikes against Venezuela earlier this month, during which it forcibly seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife before taking them to New York.
The U.S. attack on Venezuela led to the deaths of 32 Cuban soldiers, whose remains were flown back to the country on Thursday. Thousands gathered on the streets of Havana on Friday to pay their respects to the fallen soldiers and protest against the U.S. military actions which have received widespread condemnation worldwide.
U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that Cuba could become the next target following the U.S. intervention in Venezuela, and in a social media post urged Cuba to "make a deal" or face consequences, and said that the flow of Venezuelan oil and money to Cuba would be stopped.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has said Cuba will not initiate attacks or threats against any country, but is prepared to defend every inch of its territory.
Cuba approves plans on transition to 'state of war' amid US tensions
Cuba approves plans on transition to 'state of war' amid US tensions
China will enhance its equipment upgrading and trade-in programs in 2026 to boost domestic demand, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced on Tuesday.
Regarding promoting large-scale equipment upgrades and replacing old consumer goods with new ones, significant progress was reported in 2025. In the past year, ultra-long-term special government bond funds were arranged to support approximately 8,400 equipment-upgrading projects, stimulating total investments exceeding 1 trillion yuan (about 143.5 billion U.S. dollars). Over 360 million people applied for subsidies under the consumer goods trade-in scheme, leading to sales of related goods surpassing 2.6 trillion yuan.
Wang Shancheng, director of the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection at the NDRC, said at a press conference that the Implementation of these measures will continue to be optimized in 2026.
"We will further lower the investment threshold for application projects, increase support for small and medium-sized enterprises, expand policy coverage, implement the requirements for building a unified national market, and implement unified subsidy standards nationwide for the scrapping and replacement of vehicles, trade-in of six categories of home appliances, and four categories of digital and smart product purchases," said Wang.
The NDRC representative also highlighted that in 2026, efforts will focus on comprehensively expanding domestic demand. An implementation plan to expand domestic demand for the 2026-2030 period will be formulated. Furthermore, the NDRC will promote upgrades in key industries, explore establishing a national-level mergers and acquisitions fund, and cultivate and bolster emerging and future industries.
China to enhance equipment upgrades and trade-in programs in 2026
