Honduras president to undertake 1st China trip after establishing diplomatic ties

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) – Honduras President Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento will visit China next week, the first such trip since the central American nation established full diplomatic relations with Beijing.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday that Beijing is confident that the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Sarmiento "will chart and guide the future development of China-Honduras relations."

The two nations established formal diplomatic relations in March this year.

Earlier, the central American nation had diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which China considers its "breakaway province."

The Honduran Foreign Ministry had said in March that it recognized China as the "only legitimate government that represents all of China" and that Taiwan is an "inseparable" part of Chinese territory.

Beijing opened its embassy in Honduras this week.

After shifting diplomatic relations to Beijing, Honduras left Taiwan with only 13 diplomatic allies.