Honduran President set to visit China after establishing ties

World
By William

President Xiomara Castro continues to expand Honduras’ relations with Beijing as the Central American country looks for an economic boost.

The government of Honduran President Xiomara Castro has announced it will travel to China later this week as the Latin American country seeks stronger ties with Beijing.

“At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, I will come on a special mission [Foreign Minister Enrique Reina] the People’s Republic of China between June 9 and 13,” Castro said in a Twitter post Monday. “The re-establishment of Honduras requires new political, scientific, technical, commercial and cultural horizons.”

The trip symbolizes China’s growing influence in Central America, where countries like Honduras have sought to balance relations with the United States with their desire for greater economic involvement in Beijing.

Castro’s visit also comes months after Honduras established diplomatic ties with China in March, ending its formal relationship with Taiwan.

China does not allow countries to maintain formal relations with both Taiwan and Beijing, and China’s economic weight has prompted a number of Central American countries to leave Taiwan in search of stronger ties with China.

Costa Rica formalized relations with Beijing in 2007, with Panama, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic following suit since 2017. The growing number of countries making the switch has left Taiwan increasingly isolated: it maintains official relations with only 13 countries.

The United States has expressed concern over China’s increasing influence in Central America, where the US has historically wielded influence as the sole superpower in the region.

However, Central American countries have shown little interest in taking sides between the US and China, home to the world’s first and second largest economies, respectively.

Reina has said coffee would be the first Honduran export to the Chinese market. He added on Monday that a number of “cooperation agreements” would be signed during Castro’s trip.

The decision to cut ties with Taiwan reportedly came after the island rejected a request from Honduras for a $2.5 billion loan to address debt problems.

After establishing formal ties with Honduras in March, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning denied any preconditions for economic aid, stating that diplomatic relations “are not for trade”.

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