Beijing is ready to deepen its comprehensive cooperative partnership with Caribbean nations, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) said yesterday during a meeting in Beijing with Grenadan Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, whose nation was a one-time diplomatic ally of Taiwan.
China is willing to keep up assistance to regional nations to aid their economic and social development, Xinhua news agency cited Xi as saying.
Granada has greatly benefited from the links with China and is anxious for cooperation with the Asian giant, Mitchell told meeting.
Photo: Reuters
“Both sides should … draw a new blueprint for the long-term and high-level development of bilateral relations,” Xi said, adding that two-way ties had developed successfully over the past two decades.
Mitchell said Granada firmly adheres to the “Chinese principle” and out of respect for its territorial sovereignty and integrity, Xinhua added.
Mitchell, the first foreign leader Xi has met this year in Beijing, was on an official week-long visit to China from Saturday.
The Caribbean and Latin America have the concentration of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, with seven of the remaining 12 UN member states being allies in the region.
Taiwan broke the ties with Granada 20 years after the dilomatic ties of the Caribbean country with China.
In the Caribbean, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are still diplomatic allies of Taiwan.
China and Taiwan have for years traded accusations of using “dollar diplomacy” as they compete for diplomatic recognition.
Taiwanese security officials have said that they believed China is likely to continue to whittle away at the number of its diplomatic allies.