Incoming Honduras president signals U-turn on initiating China ties

TEGUCIGALPA, (Reuters) - The government of incoming Honduran president Xiomara Castro does not plan to establish diplomatic ties with China as it prioritizes U.S. relations, a high-ranking ally of Castro said yesterday, signaling a reversal of her pre-election stance.

Before Sunday’s presidential election, which PARIS, (Reuters) - The prefect of Guadeloupe, the representative of the French central state in the overseas territory, on Thursday said he would extend a nightly curfew until Dec. 7, citing a continued threat to public order amid protest over COVID-19 rules.

The decision concerned Pointe-a-Pitre, the archipelagos main city, as well as twenty other municipalities, the prefect said in a statement.

He added that public order on the Caribbean island was still troubled, with police arresting armed protesters and continued blockades on public roads.

France last week said it is open to discuss autonomy for Guadeloupe if it is in the interests of the people who live there after violent protest had shaken the territory.

Castro appears to have won by a large margin and her main rival conceded, she said she was open to starting formal relations with China. That would have been a blow to Honduras’ longstanding diplomatic ally Taiwan, which China views as a renegade province.

Honduras, with a population of just under 10 million, is one of a shrinking club concentrated in Central America and the Caribbean that maintains relations with U.S.-backed Taiwan.

Castro’s pledge on China relations had prompted diplomatic jostling between Beijing and Washington as each seeks to exert influence on the Central American nation.

Salvador Nasralla, the runner-up of the Honduran 2017 presidential election who is set to be one of Castro’s three vice presidents, told Reuters that any relations with China had to be weighed against ties with the United States.

When asked if Honduras would establish relations with China, Nasralla said: “No.”

“There are no relations with China, relations continue with Taiwan,” he added. “Our trade ally, our close ally, our historical ally is the United States. We don’t want to fight with the United States, the United States is our main trade ally.”

Another senior politician in Castro’s incoming government, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also said there would be no ramping up of China relations as the “conditions” for that do not exist.

Guadeloupe extends nightly curfew amid violent protests against COVID19 rules