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 China |  Honduras |
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TheRepublic of Honduras and thePeople's Republic of China (PRC) have maintained diplomatic relations since 2023. However, diplomatic relations with China date back to 1941 when theRepublic of China (ROC) controlled the mainland; under theOne China policy since 1949, Honduras maintained relations with the ROC on Taiwan for an additional 74 years until it shifted recognition to the PRC in 2023.[1] China has an embassy inTegucigalpa. Honduras has an embassy inBeijing.
The Republic of Honduras and theNationalist government of China based inChongqing (Chungking) entered diplomatic relations on April 9, 1941, but continued after the Chinese government lost theChinese Civil War to the Communists and decamped to Taiwan, formerly aQing prefecture ceded toJapan from 1895 to 1945.[2] Relations with the two countries were upgraded to ambassadorial level on May 20, 1965. Honduras established an embassy in Taipei in June 1985 and sent a full-time ambassador.
On 1 January 2023, Honduran foreign minister Enrique Reina met with Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign AffairsXie Feng on the sidelines at the inauguration of Brazilian PresidentLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva inBrazil. The encounter sparked concerns by the Taiwan government that Beijing was persuading Honduras to switch to recognizing China over Taiwan.[3]
On 14 March, Honduran PresidentXiomara Castro announced that she had directed her foreign minister to begin the process of opening official relations with the People's Republic of China.[4] During her presidential campaign in the2021 Honduran general election, Castro had referenced the possibility of Honduras cutting its relations with the Taiwan and beginning relations with the People's Republic of China,[5] although as recently as January 2022 she had stated a desire for Honduras to maintain ties with Taiwan.[4] The Chinese foreign ministry stated that it welcomed President Castro's announcement, noting China's position that "[o]n the basis of theOne-China principle, China is willing to develop friendly and cooperative relations with Honduras and other countries in the world."[4]
On 26 March, Honduras formally broke ties with Taiwan and established ties with the PRC.[6][7] According to Taiwan Foreign MinisterJoseph Wu, Taiwan had ended its relations with Honduras to "safeguard its sovereignty and dignity."[8]
On 5 June, China officially inaugurated its embassy in Honduras[9] and it opened on 11 June.[10] During the embassy opening,General Secretary of the Chinese Communist PartyXi Jinping announced that China is willing to begin talks on a free trade agreement with Honduras "as soon as possible".[11]
According to theCentral Bank of Honduras, Honduras's exports to China totaled $24.7 million in 2020.[12] In 2022, bilateral trade reached almost $1.589 billion.
In March 2023, Honduras announced that it was negotiating with China to build ahydroelectric dam, Patuca II.[13]
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