China has made diplomatic inroads in Latin America, where trade concerns have led some countries to end relations with Taiwan.
The South American nation of Paraguay has expelled a Chinese diplomat on the grounds of alleged “interference in domestic affairs”.
Paraguay’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the visa of Xu Wei, a Chinese envoy, had been cancelled. The country gave him 24 hours to leave, declaring him persona non grata.
Xu allegedly told lawmakers that they must choose between relations with Taiwan and China after a surprise appearance at Paraguay’s Congress.
He had been in the country to attend an annual conference for UNESCO, the United Nations body for international cooperation in culture, sciences and the arts.
“This gentleman had a parallel agenda. He came to do internal politics that were not appropriate,” said Juan Baiardi, the deputy minister of administration and technical affairs for Paraguay’s Foreign Ministry.
Paraguay is part of a dwindling number of countries that maintain diplomatic relations with the self-governing island of Taiwan.
China, which claims the territory of Taiwan as its own, requires countries to choose between recognition of Taiwan and maintaining ties with its government in Beijing. Only 12 countries choose to recognise Taiwan — and Paraguay is the only one to do so in South America.
On Wednesday, Xu skipped the UNESCO meeting and instead met with officials in Paraguay’s capital of Asuncion, where he called on lawmakers to ditch Taiwan and bolster ties with China.
“It is either China or Taiwan,” he said. “I recommend that the government of Paraguay make a correct decision as soon as possible.”
Xu added that relations with China would come with increased opportunities for trade, along with “thousands of other advantages”.
Speaking to the press afterwards, Xu repeated his argument that forging diplomatic ties with China, instead of Taiwan, would pay economic dividends.
“Currently, there is almost no direct trade or exports from Paraguay to China,” he said. “It’s a great shame. Paraguayans are giving away their profits to intermediaries. But with diplomatic relations with China, you can earn more.”
As countries like Brazil and Argentina enjoy robust exports of products such as beef and soybeans to China, some members of Paraguay’s Congress have suggested that making the switch could be beneficial.
In recent years, a number of Latin American countries — including Honduras, Panama, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador — have cut ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing, whose influence in the region has expanded alongside trade agreements that offer lucrative access to its huge markets.
Xu urged Paraguay’s officials to likewise choose China over Taiwan, saying the matter cannot be negotiated.
“It is not an option to choose both China and Taiwan. No, it’s ‘or’. Either China or Taiwan,” Xu said. “In my case, I recommend that the government of Paraguay make the right decision as soon as possible.”
For its part, Taiwan has reacted angrily to Chinese efforts to roll back its diplomatic recognition abroad, and it responded forcefully to Xu’s petition in Paraguay.
“He infiltrated Paraguay with an unknown purpose, to undermine the firm friendship between Paraguay and Taiwan,” the Taiwanese embassy in the country said in a social media post.
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