Beijing –
Honduras opened an embassy in Beijing on Sunday, Chinese state media reported, months after the Central American nation severed ties with Taiwan to establish diplomatic ties with China.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Honduran counterpart Enrique Reina participated in the opening of the embassy on Sunday morning, China’s official CCTV said. The report said Honduras still needed to determine the permanent location of the embassy and would increase its staff.
Qin promised that China would establish a new model with Honduras of “friendly cooperation” between countries of different sizes and systems, according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.
The symbol of strengthening diplomatic relations between the two sides came during Honduran President Xiomara Castro’s six-day visit to China.
Honduras established formal relations with China in March, becoming the latest in a string of countries to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan. China regards self-governing Taiwan as a breakaway province, to be taken back by force if necessary, and bans its own diplomatic partners from having formal ties with Taipei.
The island also faces increasing military threats from Beijing. Its defense ministry reported on Sunday that 10 Chinese warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary previously tacitly accepted by both sides. In response, Taiwan deployed aircraft, naval vessels and land-based missile systems.
Castro arrived in Shanghai on Friday in his first visit since establishing relations. During his stay in Shanghai, he visited the headquarters of the New Development Bank, a bank established by the BRICS countries, which include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Honduras requested admission to the bank, Castro’s office tweeted Saturday.
The president also visited a research center of tech giant Huawei before arriving in Beijing on Saturday night, China’s official Global Times newspaper reported.
The ties formed in March were a diplomatic victory for China amid rising tensions between Beijing and the United States, including China’s growing assertiveness toward Taiwan. He also indicated China’s growing influence in Latin America.
China and Taiwan have been locked in a battle for diplomatic recognition since they split amid civil war in 1949, with Beijing spending billions to win recognition for its “one China” policy.
