A Paraguayan senator hopes that the South American country will establish a diplomatic relationship with China as the vast Chinese market holds abundant economic opportunities for its people.
Paraguay currently has no diplomatic relations with China due to its reluctance to sever official ties with China's Taiwan region. But it has a quite strong trade relationship with China.
"It is working to try to install the debate so that we analyze the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations, because we have commercial relations, but without diplomatic relations. We're doing in this regard. Paraguay has 30 percent of all imports from China. So, I think it is time to analyze the possibility of making a turn in our diplomatic relations," said Ever Villalba, a senator of Paraguay's Liberal Party.
Villalba believes cooperation with China benefits the Paraguayan people.
"It is a big country, a country with more than 1.4 billion inhabitants, everything we produce can be useful. It is an economic opportunity and in that relationship with a giant like China there could be many advantages for the Paraguayan people," he said.
Paraguayan senator calls for establishing diplomatic relations with China
Paraguayan senator calls for establishing diplomatic relations with China
Nauru remains steadfast in its adherence to the one-China principle, Lionel Aingimea, Nauruan Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade affirmed on Monday after the inauguration of the country's embassy in Beijing.
In an interview with China Media Group (CMG), Aingimea reaffirmed Nauru's recognition of China's sovereignty over all its territories, including Taiwan, and expressed hopes that other Pacific nations would embrace this principle.
"For us, the one-China principle is recognizing that the People's Republic of China is sovereign over all its territories, including Taiwan, the province of China. We believe that to be true. And I sincerely hope that our other Pacific brothers and sisters, who have not yet seen that that is the correct way to go, to recognize the one-China principle, and to realize that the sovereignty of the people to Republic of China over all its territories and its provinces is paramount, not just to recognizing that principle, but to their development also," said Aingimea.
Pragmatic cooperation has been one of the highlights of bilateral relations between China and Nauru over the past year, said Aingimea.
The two countries have conducted pragmatic and effective cooperation projects in the fields of education, culture, health and infrastructure, and the cooperation prospect for the two countries is bright, Aingimea said.
"To see you as a side-to-side brother, see you as a side-to-side friend, that you're walking together in the international arena, is very important. There are other countries that they see smaller countries, they look down on them. China does not. China treats me in the same way it treats every other single foreign minister. We also came from that, I suppose, the least developed, to now being an incredibly well-developed country. China has never forgotten that. That's how they see Nauru, and therefore when we go forward, we remember going forward with you, because we remember where we come from, we know where you are," said Aingimea.
Nauru resumed its diplomatic ties with China on the basis of the one-China principle on Jan 24, 2024, becoming the 183rd country having diplomatic relations with China.
Nauru reaffirms unwavering commitment to one-China principle
