Beijing, February 5 (Reuters) – China strongly backs Cuba in safeguarding its sovereignty and national security and “opposes unjustified interference by external forces,” the Chinese Foreign Minister told his Cuban counterpart on Thursday as the United States tightens its grip on the island nation.
Beijing expressed its support for the socialist country after the worsening tensions over the past month between the United States and Cuba, amid the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Cuba.
“We are willing to provide support and assistance in the best possible manner,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, citing “complex and profound changes” in Latin America, to Bruno Rodríguez of Cuba, according to a statement from Wang’s ministry.
Take Advantage of the Stock Market Rally!
The U.S. President, Donald Trump, also took steps to prevent all oil from reaching Cuba, with whom Beijing says it shares “special friendly relations” as socialist countries governed by communist parties.
“Even though (we are) on different continents, our hearts have always been intimately linked,” Liu Haixing, senior minister of the Chinese Communist Party, told Rodríguez in a separate meeting on Wednesday.
China “supports Cuba in opposing foreign interference and the blockade,” Liu added.
Neither Liu nor Wang were cited mentioning the United States directly in the official summaries of the meetings released by Beijing.
The Cuban foreign minister’s visit also occurred amid the intensification of the rivalry between Washington and Beijing in Latin America, including the control of important ports near the Panama Canal.
