Former US Ambassador Roland Bullen had complained about the amount of publicity that gifts from Cuba and China, which he labeled “ill-placed, shoddy and unsustainable,” attracted, compared to aid from the US, which he said had greater impact.
Bullen, in a June 29, 2006 diplomatic cable, released via WikiLeaks, criticized the Cuban eye care programme and the International Convention Centre, which was a gift from the People’s Republic of China. He noted that while gifts from