- The trip – at President Xi Jinping’s invitation – marks another step in the new relationship, after her nation ditched ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing
- The four-day visit was announced at the official inauguration of China’s embassy in the capital, Tegucigalpa
Honduras President Xiomara Castro delivers a speech in Tegucigalpa in April. Photo: Reuters
Honduran President Xiomara Castro is set to travel this week to China, her foreign minister said on Monday, which will be the leftist leader’s first visit to the Asian giant after establishing formal diplomatic relations with it in March.
Castro’s trip marks the latest step in the two nations’ new relationship, after her government ditched ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing.
Foreign Minister Enrique Reina told reporters at an event inaugurating China’s embassy in Tegucigalpa that Castro will travel on Tuesday and the presidential trip will extend over four days.
The ceremony was held at a hotel in the capital, as Beijing has not yet defined the building where its diplomatic mission will operate.
An interim envoy, Yu Bo, will lead the embassy in Honduras and lead the search for a permanent embassy building, officials said.
“The Chinese embassy in Honduras will do everything possible to fulfill the responsibilities of being the window, the platform, for relations between the two countries,” Yu said at the event.
Castro’s travel to the world’s second biggest economy stemmed from an invitation from her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Honduran state media outlet Poder Popular wrote in a story published earlier on Monday.
Honduras and China launched diplomatic relations after Castro cut ties with Taiwan in a bid for more investment and jobs from the much larger Chinese economy.
Last month, Reina announced that both sides will “soon” begin trade talks, with coffee set to be the first Honduran export to the massive Chinese consumer market.
The minister added on Monday that several “cooperation agreements” would be signed, but did not specify further. Castro’s government is also seeking deals with China to lighten the nation’s debt burden. Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
NOTA: ESTA NOTA PERTENCE AL PORTAL DE: World / Americas. Reuters.
