China Lauds Obama’s Cuba Visit, Urges Washington to Lift Embargo

The Chinese government on Monday lauded U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba and urged Washington to finalize lifting its embargo on the Caribbean nation as soon as possible.

Chinese Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, addressing a press conference in Beijing, said he believed Cuba and the United States would build on their improving bilateral relations, denying that any growing ties between the two countries would affect China’s relationship with Latin America.

For more than 50 years, the United States has imposed a blockade on Cuba, and the improving relations serve the interests of the two countries as well as the entire region, said Hua.

He added that Beijing hopes the U.S. will lift its blockade on Cuba as soon as possible, and that China and Cuba will continue to consolidate a friendship that will remain unaffected by any third parties.

Obama on Sunday began a historic official visit to Cuba, the first by a U.S. president to the island in nearly nine decades, and his agenda on Monday includes meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro and attending a business forum with businessman and entrepreneurs from both countries.