"We have noticed that the United States and Cuba expressed their willingness to improve their bilateral relations. China welcomes and supports the normalization of the bilateral relations [between Cuba and the United States]," Qin Gang said at a press briefing in Beijing.
The restoration of US-Cuba diplomatic ties will not affect the "friendship" between Beijing and Havana, he noted.
"We hope that the United States will lift the economic sanctions imposed on Cuba in nearest future," Qin said.
On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama announced a decision to reestablish an embassy in Havana after more than 50 years of severed relations. The United States also plans to cooperate with Cuba on migration, counterterrorism, drug-trafficking and disaster response.
On the same day, Cuban leader Raul Castro confirmed that his country and the United States had agreed to restore diplomatic relations but noted that it was too early to speak about the end of the economic sanctions implemented against the island.
Diplomatic relations between the countries were broken off in 1961.
China is Cuba's second largest economic partner after Venezuela. In 2014 the trade turnover between the two communist countries reached $1.8 billion.
