The president of Honduras has announced that her government wants to establish diplomatic relations with China. Xiomara Castro said on Twitter on Tuesday that she had instructed Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina to enter into negotiations with Beijing. Already during the 2021 election campaign, Castro had promised such a step, but then did not implement it.
Tjerk Brühwiller
Correspondent for Latin America, based in São Paulo.
- Follow I follow
Although Castro did not explicitly comment on Taiwan, her announcement makes it clear that Honduras must give up its diplomatic relations with Taipei because the Chinese government demands it. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry urged Honduras to "carefully consider" the decision and summoned the Honduran ambassador for talks.
In Latin America, Beijing's efforts to win countries over to its side have been very successful in recent years. China is investing heavily in infrastructure projects and trade. This has already led Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Nicaragua to break off their relations with Taiwan. In Honduras, China is pushing ahead with a major dam project.
Breaking off relations with Honduras would reduce the number of countries with which Taiwan has formal diplomatic relations to 13. In Latin America, Belize and Paraguay are among them. Relations with Paraguay are also hanging in the balance. The opposition is considering establishing formal relations with Beijing in the event of a victory in the elections at the end of April.