Depth | It only takes more than two months from the establishment of diplomatic relations to the meeting! The President of Honduras will visit China for the first time

Welcome and send, China's diplomatic "hot season" continues.

This is the first visit of the President of Honduras to China, just over two months after the two countries officially established diplomatic relations.

The public opinion believes that the speed and duration of the visit arranged by China and Hong Kong from the establishment of diplomatic relations to the meeting highlight the importance and expectations of both sides for the bilateral relationship, and it is also a manifestation of the compatibility of their development concepts and focus. This visit will not only open a new chapter in China Hong Kong relations, but also inject new impetus into China Latin America cooperation.

"A good start"

Honduras is located in the northern part of Central America, with an area of less than 120000 square kilometers and a population of less than 12 million. Although economically underdeveloped, it has abundant natural resources.

On June 5th, the opening ceremony of the Chinese Embassy in Honduras was held in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. Vice President Hong, Foreign Minister, Vice Speaker of the Council, and several ministers personally attended to witness a historic moment in the relationship between the two countries.

On the same day, Honduras President Castro announced on social media that she will visit China with a "special mission". Hong Kong Foreign Minister Reina announced that both sides will sign a series of memorandums, documents, and framework agreements at that time.

From the opening of the Chinese Embassy to President Hong's announcement of his visit to China, foreign media lamented that China's influence in Honduras is increasing.

The public opinion believes that the visit of the President of Honduras to China is not a temporary initiative, and there have been rumors in the local media before. However, the background of this visit is unique, the timing is delicate, and both sides arranged it quickly, which attracted the attention of the outside world.

On the one hand, this is Honduran President Castro's first state visit to China. It is less than three months since Honduras and Taiwan "severed diplomatic relations" and formally established diplomatic relations with me in March this year.

More than two months ago, "the Castro government faced a relatively difficult internal and external environment." Niu Haibin, director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute of the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, pointed out that the United States has been putting pressure on it from the outside, including sending Vice President Harris to attend Castro's inauguration ceremony, hoping that it will not "turn diplomatic". Internally, some specific business sectors, such as the seafood industry, are concerned about whether the export market can be guaranteed. However, the Castro government followed the trend of history and made a strategic decision to establish diplomatic relations with China.

On the other hand, since the establishment of diplomatic relations over two months ago, "China and Hong Kong have rapidly docked and cooperated in various fields such as economy and trade, agriculture, science and technology, culture, and media, and have achieved a series of early gains, achieving a good start." A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 6th.

For example, a delegation of media reporters and business representatives from Honduras visited China one after another, experiencing the development pulse of China up close, and introducing the achievements of China's economic development to local media. For example, China has quickly approved the entry of several important products from Honduras, such as coffee, shrimp, and bananas.

"Castro's visit to China at this time highlights the high importance and expectations that both sides attach to developing relations under the new political and diplomatic framework." Niu Haibin pointed out that Hong Kong hopes to quickly promote high-level interaction between the two countries through this visit, create political conditions for the early opening of the cooperation agenda after the establishment of diplomatic relations, and further achieve early gains in relations with China.

Xu Shicheng, a researcher at the Latin American Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that from the perspectives of party affiliation, governance philosophy, and economic status, it is not surprising that Castro fulfilled his promise to establish diplomatic relations with China and quickly promoted his visit to China.

Politically, Castro comes from the left-wing political party "Freedom and Reconstruction Party" in Honduras. His government is considered a moderate left-wing government, advocating democratic socialism and adhering to a pluralistic diplomacy as the main governing ideology.

As early as during the 2021 election campaign, Castro said that if elected, he would immediately open diplomatic and commercial relations with Chinese Mainland. Since taking office in January last year, despite facing pressure from the United States and internal opponents, Castro has still sought to establish good relations with China.

"China and Hong Kong had exchanges before the formal establishment of diplomatic relations, such as sending representatives to attend the China Latin America Entrepreneurship Summit and the China Latin America Ministerial Forum. Last year, the trade volume between the two countries was 1.589 billion US dollars, of which China's exports to Hong Kong accounted for more than 90%. Therefore, the Castro government hopes to strengthen economic and trade relations with China through the establishment of diplomatic relations, in order to promote its economic development and improve people's livelihoods." Xu Shicheng said.

"Big gift package"

As the countdown to his visit to China approaches, factors such as the composition of Castro's delegation and the list of agenda items have attracted much attention.

It is reported that Honduran business people will accompany the President on a visit, hoping to expand exports to China, attract Chinese investment to the local area, and create employment for the local area.

Based on the comprehensive information from the foreign ministries of the two countries and various sources, the historic meeting between the two heads of state includes two main axes: strategically, the leaders of the two countries will jointly plan and lead the future development of China Hong Kong relations; In terms of operation, both sides will engage in exchanges around promoting cooperation in multiple fields such as economy, trade, investment, culture, and technology, and are expected to sign a series of cooperation documents.

"Both sides hope to take advantage of the opportunity of establishing diplomatic relations, and through the establishment of strategic and political relations, better promote cooperation in various fields such as economy, trade, culture, science and technology, and achieve more tangible cooperation results." Niu Haibin pointed out.

For example, in terms of economy and trade, the export structure of products among Latin American countries is highly homogeneous. Therefore, if we want to further improve competitiveness in the Chinese market, we need some institutional guarantees. In the field of humanities, mutual understanding and personnel exchanges between newly established diplomatic countries are relatively limited. Therefore, with the establishment of political relations, both sides will provide more support for exchanges from all walks of life and overseas study. Hong Fang may soon enjoy the dividends in this regard.

According to the Honduran side, the two sides will sign several strategic documents and cooperate in various fields such as infrastructure, agriculture, finance, trade, mining, manufacturing, science and education, and health.

Xu Shicheng pointed out that the business community in Honduras is looking forward to receiving loans from China to alleviate debt problems; We also hope that China can participate in infrastructure construction such as hydropower stations and expand exports of agricultural products to China. "I estimate that China will provide a certain amount of low interest loans to Hong Fang."

Both scholars mentioned the potential cooperation "gift package" of this visit: the two sides may sign the "the Belt and Road" international cooperation memorandum, and may announce the launch of free trade agreement negotiations.

Wechat Moments

As Honduras turns to Beijing, China's circle of friends in Latin America continues to expand.

"Of the 33 Latin American countries, 26 have established diplomatic relations with China." Xu Shicheng pointed out that 21 Latin American countries have participated in the "the Belt and Road" cooperation, and have gained tangible benefits in cooperation with China, effectively promoting the development of their own economies.

Some Americans are on pins and needles about this.

According to foreign media, the United States regards Latin America as a "backyard" and is particularly concerned about China's increasing footprint in Latin America. The United States previously attempted to prevent Honduras from establishing diplomatic relations with China, but later smeared China for not fulfilling its promises.

However, various signs indicate that in recent years, more and more Central and South American countries have disregarded pressure and opposition from the United States, seeking more independent and autonomous political choices.

Al Jazeera stated that based on Castro's visit, countries such as Honduras are seeking a balance between long-term relations with the United States and strengthening cooperation with China.

"From the establishment of diplomatic relations to the visit, the current round of interaction between Honduras and China has sent multiple signals," said Niu Haibin.

Firstly, China's rise as an economic and technological powerhouse has great appeal to developing countries.

Many Latin American countries have the impression of China as a high-tech country in the fields of new energy, 5G, vaccines, and more, rather than an exporter of low-end manufactured goods. China has fully demonstrated its development achievements and huge market. This has a strong appeal in Latin American countries.

Secondly, the achievements made in the development of China Latin America relations have had a strong demonstration effect on many Latin American countries.

In recent years, the import and export trade and investment between Latin American countries and China have grown rapidly; The cooperation with China under the "the Belt and Road" initiative has produced positive effects. This also makes more countries realize that establishing closer political and economic relations with China can provide more development resources and promote their own economic growth.

Thirdly, from the perspective of development philosophy and focus, China and Latin American countries share the same aspirations.

The Castro government is a development oriented government that focuses on domestic economic development. This is in line with China's "the Belt and Road" initiative and the global development initiative, and in contrast to the excessive attention paid by the United States to illegal immigrants.

"From a broader perspective, Latin American countries all hope to benefit from a globalized and multipolar world. They hope to establish more diverse development partnerships, promote the shift of global power and economic center of gravity. If they completely bind themselves to the United States, it is tantamount to narrowing their own international development space. This is also their choice from a larger perspective," said Niu Haibin.

Looking ahead to the future, Xu Shicheng pointed out that Castro's visit will open a new chapter in China Hong Kong relations and inject new impetus into China Latin America cooperation.

In the medium to long term, influenced by the demonstration of establishing diplomatic relations with China by countries such as Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, as well as the expansion of economic and trade relations between China and Latin America, more and more countries will follow the "One China" policy and establish diplomatic relations with China. This can be said to be a general trend. The United States cannot stop regional countries from taking steps in their relations with China, even in countries that are more pro American, such as Panama and Costa Rica.