The Embassy of Honduras opened in Beijing on Sunday, almost three months after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, China Central Television reported.
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The opening ceremony of the diplomatic mission was attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Foreign Minister of Honduras Enrique Reina.
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The opening of the embassy took place against the backdrop of a visit to China by Honduran President Siomara Castro, who is in China from June 9 to 14.
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At the end of March this year, the Honduras Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it was breaking off diplomatic relations with Taiwan and establishing relations with China. The statement noted that Honduras recognizes the existence of only one China in the world, and the PRC is the only legitimate Chinese government. Later, the island’s Foreign Ministry announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Honduras and the closure of the embassy there. Honduras became the 182nd country to establish diplomatic relations with China. Later, the Honduras Foreign Ministry announced that the President of the country, Siomara Castro, after establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing and breaking ties with Taipei, would visit China to conclude agreements between the states.
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Taiwan has 13 diplomatic allies left: Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Eswatini, Tuvalu and the Vatican. Taipei maintains ties with other states through its “economic and cultural representations.”
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Previously, there were more countries maintaining diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but in recent years, many have decided to break them by establishing official relations with China, including El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, Panama, the Pacific state of Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, Nicaragua.
