BEIJING – China has urged the US to immediately stop the blockade and sanctions as well as coercion and pressuring of any form against Cuba, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The spokesperson for the ministry made the remarks in response to the US move to ramp up sanctions against Cuba. Cuba has said that the US's illegal and unilateral coercive measures are reprehensible and ridiculous.

The spokesperson said that the US intensification of illicit and unilateral sanctions against Cuba gravely infringes on the Cuban people's right to subsistence and development and violates the basic norms in international relations.

ALSO READ: Cuba denounces ‘cynical and hypocritical’ US military threat

China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and security, and opposes interference in Cuba's internal affairs, the spokesperson added.