African nation resumes diplomatic ties with China after suspending ties with Taiwan

Beijing [China], Dec. 27 (ANI): China and the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe have resumed diplomatic relations after the West African nation cut "diplomatic ties" with Taiwan last week. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his counterpart in Sao Tome and Principe Urbino Botelho on Monday held talks at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse and signed a joint communique to resume diplomatic relations, reports Xinhua. Sao Tome and Principe, an island nation in the Gulf of Guinea and a former Portuguese colony established diplomatic relations with China immediately after gaining independence in 1975 but switched to Taiwan in 1997. Last week after the African island cut its diplomatic ties with Taiwan and acknowledged the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese media termed it as a first setback to Taiwan "diplomacy" after President Tsai Ing-wen's phone call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. An article in People's Daily said that the diplomatic break was not accidental, but is obviously a punishment for Tsai's refusal to recognize the 1992 consensus and other provocations against the one-China policy. Meanwhile, authorities in Taiwan cited Sao Tome's request for enormous aid as a reason for the diplomatic cut off. (ANI)