President of Honduras begins visit to China after breaking ties with Taiwan

Honduran President Xiomara Castro arrived in Shanghai on Friday for her first visit since China established ties with her country and alienated the Central American nation from Taiwan, its longtime diplomatic ally.

Castro, who will be in the country until June 14, will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, “to jointly plan the future development” of their relationship, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

Honduras established formal relations with China in March, becoming the latest in a series of former allies to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Beijing considers the self-governing island a breakaway province that must be reincorporated into its territory, by force if necessary, and prohibits its diplomatic allies from having a formal relationship with Taipei.

Beijing has intensified its battle for diplomatic recognition against Taiwan since pro-independence President Tsai Ing-wen took power in 2016. Since then, China has managed to win over nine former Taipei allies with a campaign that includes multibillion-dollar investments.

Beijing’s latest victory comes at a time of rising tensions with the United States motivated, among other things, by China’s growing assertiveness towards Taiwan and its growing influence in Latin America.

Taiwan now has just 13 diplomatic partners, including Belize, Paraguay and Guatemala in Latin America; the Vatican and several other nations in the Caribbean and South Pacific and Eswatini in southern Africa.

[Con información de The Associated Press]

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