China backs Cuba's sovereignty, opposes external interference: spokeswoman

China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its sovereignty and security, and opposes any form of external interference, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

Mao made the remarks in response to a question regarding recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump about Cuba. "China consistently upholds respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and opposes any infringement upon other countries' sovereignty or interference in their internal affairs under any pretext. China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its sovereignty and security and opposes external interference," Mao said.

The three astronauts of the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission have boarded the spacecraft for a flight to China’s Tiangong space station.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to blast off at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT) from northwest China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The three Chinese astronauts, commander Zhu Yangzhu, spacecraft pilot Zhang Zhiyuan and payload specialist Lai Ka-ying, climbed aboard the spaceship with the help of technicians.

Following the launch, the astronauts will complete an in-orbit rotation with the outgoing Shenzhou-21 crew, and one of them will conduct a one-year in-orbit stay, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

Notably, astronaut Lai Ka-ying is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program, and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.