Honduran President seeks diplomatic relations with China in a blow for Taiwan

Honduras is taking steps to begin official diplomatic relations with China, President Xiomara Castro announced on Tuesday, a move that would sever ties with Taiwan. China refuses to maintain diplomatic ties with any country that recognizes Taiwan and has spent much of the past 40 years attempting to isolate the self-ruled island by chipping away at its diplomatic allies with offers of economic support.

Honduras is one of just 14 countries that still diplomatically recognizes Taipei over Beijing but that now looks set to change. In a tweet, Castro said she had instructed Honduras’ foreign minister “to manage the opening of official relations with the People’s Republic of China.” Castro, a democratic socialist, won a landslide victory in 2021 after campaigning on a radical agenda to counter years of governance plagued by corruption and scandal. She promised to alleviate poverty and liberalize abortion laws. During her presidential campaign, Castro said in her foreign policy manifesto that the Central American country was looking to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing.

But in January 2022, her transition team told Reuters “the new government will maintain relations with Taiwan.”

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