China28 September, 20262 min read
China’s Guo Jiakun Reiterates Firm Support for Cuba, Rejects External Interference
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Guo Jiakun reiterates unwavering Chinese support for Cuba amid U.S. pressure. China rejects external interference and will back Cuba regardless of changes.
8 outlets told this the same way.
Beijing backs Havana
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun reiterated in Beijing that “Regardless of how the international panorama evolves, China, as always, will firmly support Cuba,” on the 66th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cuba. Guo Jiakun said China would continue supporting Cuba’s “pursuit of a socialist development path that fits its national conditions,” while defending Havana’s sovereignty and opposing what he called external interference.
China’s Vice President Han Zheng urged “the relevant party” to end the threats of the use of force against Cuba and to lift the blockade and sanctions against Havana during an address to the United Nations General Assembly. The Chinese statements framed the bilateral relationship as one built over more than six decades and transmitted “from generation to generation,” and they highlighted the advancement of the “China-Cuba future-shared community.”
U.S. pressure and possible deal
The Trump administration hardened its policy toward Cuba, and the sources say it called for political changes in Havana while seeking a “fundamental change” in Cuba in a recent address to the United Nations.
The sources say Trump asserted that the Cuban government would fall, while he also said on Saturday that he does not believe the United States will need to use the Army and that Washington and Havana could reach an agreement.
CBS News reported that the U.S. Army was examining the availability of support units that could come under U.S. Southern Command’s control, with the document contemplating medical personnel, military police, engineers, and logistical units within 90 to 120 days.
The sources also say Han Zheng urged the United States to “lift the blockade and sanctions against Cuba” at the United Nations General Assembly, aligning Beijing’s rhetoric with its diplomatic message.
Diplomacy, sovereignty, and aid
The sources say China rejected what it called external interference and stressed that Beijing would maintain support for Havana in defending its national sovereignty while opposing external interference. Guo Jiakun told a routine press briefing that “No matter how many changes occur in the international panorama, China will continue to firmly support, as always, Cuba in exploring a path of socialist development in line with its national conditions,” and he linked the stance to the 66 years since diplomatic relations were established.
The sources say Cuba’s ambassador to China, Alberto Blanco Silva, recalled that Cuba was the first country in the Western Hemisphere to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China and reaffirmed the principle of a single China. The sources say the Chinese government’s special envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi, reiterated that China will continue to support Cuba in defending its sovereignty and national security, and the envoy said, “China and Cuba are good friends, good partners, and good brothers.”