By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
BEIJING (Reuters) - China hopes self-ruled Taiwan’s only remaining African ally, Swaziland, will sever ties with Taipei before China hosts a summit of African leaders this year, the foreign ministry said on Friday, keeping up the pressure on Taiwan.
FILE PHOTO: Hua Chunying, spokeswoman of China s Foreign Ministry, speaks at a regular news conference in Beijing, China, January 6, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee
Taiwan is claimed by China as its own, with Beijing saying that as it is merely a Chinese province it has no right to state-to-state relations.
Taiwan has lost two diplomatic allies in the past month, most recently the West African state of Burkina Faso, which re-established ties with Beijing last weekend. The Chinese government’s top diplomat State Councillor Wang Yi urged Swaziland to follow suit.