China and El Salvador have announced the commencement of free-trade talks, a snub to the Central American country’s former ally Taiwan and a potentially new foothold for Beijing in a part of the world with strong historical ties to the United States.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele tweeted on Wednesday his country “will sign a free-trade agreement with China” after meeting with Beijing’s ambassador to the country Ou Jianhong.
China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday both sides hope to begin negotiations as soon as possible.
“Since the establishment of bilateral ties, the two sides have reached important consensus at the head-of-state level to promote deepening all areas of trade and the economy and obtain rich results,” the Thursday statement says.
“On this basis, to delve further into the potential of two-way cooperation … China and El Salvador wish to start processes related to free-trade talks as soon as possible and make our utmost effort to finish those processes as soon as possible.”
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