Mr. President,

The Chinese delegation welcomes the presence of the Foreign Minister of Cuba, His Excellency Mr. Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla at today's meeting. China aligns itself with the statement made by Palestine on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

For 27 consecutive years, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted by overwhelming majority resolutions entitled "Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba", calling on all countries to abide by the Charter of the United Nations and the norms of international law, and repeal or invalidate the laws and measures with extraterritorial effects which affect the sovereignty of other States, the legitimate interests of entities or persons under their jurisdiction, and freedom of trade and navigation.

Regrettably, however, for many years, those resolutions have not been effectively implemented, and the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba has not ended to this date. According to statistics, from April 2018 to March 2019, the embargo caused Cuba over 2 billion US dollars of foreign trade losses as well as over 700 million dollars of financial losses. This is contrary to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly, inflicting enormous economic and financial losses on the Cuban people and disrupting the normal economic, commercial and financial ties between other countries and Cuba. The embargo has also hampered the efforts of the Cuban people to eradicate poverty and achieve other Sustainable Development Goals, undermining the Cuban people's rights to life and development.

Mr. President,

China consistently advocates for respecting the right of countries to independently choose their own social systems and development paths, safeguarding the international order based on international law, and defending international fairness and justice. China is against imposing unilateral sanctions on other countries by military, political, economic or other means. China always strictly abides by and implements the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly. China and Cuba have maintained economic, trade and personnel exchanges, and our friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields continues to move ahead. This is in line with the aspirations of the peoples of China and Cuba, and is conducive to Cuba's economic and social development.

The world today is undergoing a profound change never witnessed in the past one hundred years. Peace, development, cooperation, and win-win relations have become the leitmotif of our times, and the general trend of globalization is unstoppable. Dialogue as equals and friendly consultation are the best ways to resolve differences. Unilateralism, protectionism, and bullying will eventually harm those who perform such acts. China hopes that the United States and Cuba will continue to advance the normalization of their relations, and that the United States will completely abolish the embargo policy against Cuba as soon as possible. Both parties should move with the historical trend of our times through developing normal inter-state relations in accordance with the purposes of the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations. Doing so also serves the common interests of the two countries and their peoples, promotes peace and stability throughout the Americas, and contributes to the common development of the international community. China will once again vote in favor of the draft resolution submitted by Cuba under this agenda item.

Thank you, Mr. President.