Full normalization of relations still problematic, with many thorny issues remaining to be resolved

The United States and Cuba have agreed to open embassies in each other's capitals, the biggest tangible step in the countries' historic bid to restore ties after more than a half-century of hostile relations.

US President Barack Obama was expected to announce the agreement on Wednesday at the White House. The US embassy in Havana is scheduled to open on or after July 20.

The US and Cuba have been negotiating the re-establishment of embassies following a December announcement to restart diplomatic relations.

Polls show a majority of US citizens support Obama's efforts to improve ties.

For Obama, ending the US freeze with Cuba is central to his foreign policy legacy as he nears the end of his presidency. Obama has long touted the value of direct engagement with global foes and has argued that the US embargo on the island just 145 kilometers south of Florida was ineffective.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in Vienna for nuclear negotiations with Iran, has said he would travel to Cuba for an embassy opening.

The senior US diplomat in Havana on Wednesday delivered a letter from Obama addressed to Cuban President Raul Castro about the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

China welcomes and supports Cuba and the US carrying forward normalization of their ties, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

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

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, Hua said.

Major milestone

The US cut off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961. The US spent decades trying either to overthrow Cuba's government or isolate the island, including toughening the economic embargo first imposed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Since the late 1970s, the US and Cuba have operated diplomatic missions in each other's capitals. The missions are technically under the protection of Switzerland and do not enjoy the same status as embassies.

While the opening of embassies marks a major milestone in the thaw between the US and Cuba, significant issues remain as the countries look to normalize relations. Among them: talks on human rights; demands for compensation for confiscated US properties in Havana; damages to Cuba from the embargo; and the presence of the US naval base at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay, which the United States has leased since 1903. Cuba wants the 116 square-km area returned as full sovereign territory.

For Obama, the embassy announcements come amid what the White House sees as one of the strongest stretches of his second term. The president scored major legislative and legal victories last week, with the US Congress giving him fast-track authority to make it easier to gain congressional approval for an Asia-Pacific free trade deal and the Supreme Court upholding a key provision of his healthcare law.

The court also ruled in favor of gay marriage nationwide, an outcome Obama supported.

But there is fierce opposition to lifting the embargo from Republican lawmakers.

AP - AFP - Xinhua