UK seeks more stable, stronger ties with China: ambassador

The United Kingdom seeks a stronger and more stable relationship with China, and such relations are necessary and good for the world, said British Ambassador to China Peter Wilson.

In an exclusive interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) aired on Wednesday, Wilson said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's official visit to China is planned in the long term and reached fruitful results amidst global tensions.

"From our point of view, our visit here was a long-planned thing, and the result, as I've said, was a sort of series of exchanges leading up to it, and a very successful meeting between the prime minister and President Xi way back in November 2024. I think there's a slight tendency at the moment in a sort of globally volatile environment to see everything through the prism of something else. We do not see our relationship with China through the prism of other relationships. And the prime minister was very, very clear and he was clear when he was here, and he was clear in parliament in the UK," he said.

At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Starmer paid an official visit to China from Jan 28 to 31, during which he visited Beijing and Shanghai. This was the first visit to China by a British Prime Minister in eight years.

The ambassador also said that cooperation for national interest is in human nature, and the UK wants stronger partnerships with China to address global problems.

"We do not think that we choose between relationships. We have a very strong alliance with the United States, that's extremely important for our national interest. We have a growing closeness to other countries in Europe, we are a European country. We've particularly had very strong exchanges with France and Germany at the leader level in recent months. We want a stronger and more stable relationship with China, and I think this visit demonstrated that we can do that, and we have important relationships elsewhere in the world. So, all of that is not only possible, it's necessary and it's good for the world. And I think actually as both of our leaders said to each other, it's good for the world when the UK and China are working on global problems together. It's part of our nature, it's also highly necessary," he said.

UK seeks more stable, stronger ties with China: ambassador

UK seeks more stable, stronger ties with China: ambassador

UK seeks more stable, stronger ties with China: ambassador

UK seeks more stable, stronger ties with China: ambassador

The U.S. embargo against Cuba is violating fundamental rights and worsening shortages of food and medicine, Aleida Guevara, daughter of revolutionary leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara, said Monday in an interview.

Her comments came on the sidelines of an international solidarity conference in Berlin, where activists warned that the United States' decades-long blockade has shifted from a political tool to a humanitarian crisis, cutting off basic supplies and isolating Cuba from global trade.

"The blockade is one of the worst things that a country can experience, causing years of severe suffering for the Cuban people. The embargo should not affect food and medicine, but it hit those basic needs first -- food and medicine for the people. So for many years, we have faced constant shortages of supplies," she said.

Guevara, a pediatrician at a Havana children’s hospital, said U.S. sanctions prevent pharmaceutical companies from selling medicines to Cuba, directly harming public health. She added that Washington’s measures, imposed in the name of democracy and human rights, have instead created a humanitarian crisis.

"It is unacceptable that the U.S. is trying to prevent other countries in the world from engaging in free trade with Cuba. This is damaging every aspect of our lives. People's lives are affected. Food, medicine, and transportation -- everything is impacted," she said.

The embargo dates back more than half a century. Rooted in the Trading with the Enemy Act of World War I, it was formally codified when President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order in 1962, launching an economic, commercial and financial blockade that has survived 11 successive U.S. administrations.

Today, Cuba is enduring one of its worst economic crises since the 1990s. The island has suffered three nationwide blackouts in March, while gasoline shortages have crippled hospitals, slashed public transport, and strained essential services. Since January, the Trump administration has imposed new oil restrictions and repeatedly issued military threats, further tightening pressure on Havana.

Aleida Guevara’s comments carry symbolic weight given her father’s legacy. Born in Argentina in 1928, Ernesto "Che" Guevara trained as a doctor before joining Fidel Castro’s insurgency in 1956 to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. After playing a leading role in the rebel victory, he left Cuba to pursue revolutionary struggles abroad, eventually being killed in Bolivia in 1967.

Guevara's daughter warns US embargo deepening Cuba’s humanitarian crisis

Guevara's daughter warns US embargo deepening Cuba’s humanitarian crisis