BEIJING - China welcomes and supports Cuba and the United States carrying forward normalization of their ties, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The resumption of Cuba-US diplomatic ties is conducive to the common interests of the two countries and their people, said Spokesperson Hua Chunying at a routine press briefing.

According to CNN reports, US President Barack Obama will announce the US and Cuba have reached an agreement to re-establish formal diplomatic relations and reopen embassies in Washington and Havana on Wednesday.

China hopes the US will lift its blockade and sanctions against Cuba as soon as possible and develop normal relations with Cuba on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, said Hua.

The US and Cuba have been discussing the re-establishment of embassies after the announcement they would restore relations last December.

The ending of Washington's half-century freeze with Havana is seen as a major foreign policy legacy of the Obama administration.