Four months before the 2018 FOCAC Summit, China successfully persuaded Burkina Faso to make the switch, leaving Eswatini as Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa. (Somaliland also has relations with Taiwan, but is itself not recognized as a country.) Taiwan currently has formal relations with just 12 countries, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
torsdag 12. september 2024
China-Africa Summit Shines a Spotlight on Eswatini, Taiwan’s Lone Partner in Africa
Last week, Beijing hosted the triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, which set a new record for attendance: 51 African heads of state and government, according to China’s Foreign Ministry. Another two countries sent “presidential representatives,” bringing the total number of African countries represented to 53. The lone absence? Eswatini, an absolute monarchy home to 1.2 million people and almost entirely enclosed by South Africa. It’s the only country in Africa to maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan instead of China.
Four months before the 2018 FOCAC Summit, China successfully persuaded Burkina Faso to make the switch, leaving Eswatini as Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa. (Somaliland also has relations with Taiwan, but is itself not recognized as a country.) Taiwan currently has formal relations with just 12 countries, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Four months before the 2018 FOCAC Summit, China successfully persuaded Burkina Faso to make the switch, leaving Eswatini as Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa. (Somaliland also has relations with Taiwan, but is itself not recognized as a country.) Taiwan currently has formal relations with just 12 countries, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
