At a regular press briefing this week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian issued a sharp rebuke of a recent report published by the United States State Department, labeling its allegations against China and Cuba as entirely baseless. The US document, which originated from Washington, claims that China is leveraging its diplomatic and economic ties with Cuba, an island nation located just 90 miles off the US coast, to set up intelligence gathering operations targeting American national security interests. Responding directly to these unsubstantiated assertions, Lin emphasized that all cooperation between Beijing and Havana is conducted in an open, transparent manner that adheres to international law and basic norms of diplomatic relations. He added that these baseless accusations are nothing more than malicious slander and a coordinated defamation campaign that holds no merit. The Chinese spokesperson further called on the US government to end its pattern of smearing other countries while engaging in the very behavior it falsely accuses others of, a practice commonly referred to as projection in diplomatic circles. Finally, Lin reiterated that China will remain unwavering in its support for Cuba as the Caribbean nation defends its internationally recognized national sovereignty and pushes back against all forms of coercive foreign interference from external powers.