Photo: VCG

When President of Honduras Xiomara Castro ran for office in 2021, she generated the idea of breaking off "diplomatic ties" with the island of Taiwan and establishing diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, Rasel Tomé, vice president of the National Congress of Honduras, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

The establishment of diplomatic ties with China was not only a campaign promise of the president herself, but also a decision of the current ruling Liberal Party of Honduras, and it was approved by the National Assembly of Honduras. Honduras is looking forward to working more closely with Chinese telecom company Huawei in the future, Tomé also said.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Honduran counterpart Eduardo Enrique Reina met in Beijing on Sunday and signed the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations Between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Honduras, recognizing Taiwan as an inalienable part of China's territory.

Establishing diplomatic relations with China was as much a decision of Liberal Party of Honduras as a presidential campaign promise, Tomé revealed to the Global Times. The decision was approved by the Honduran congress soon after Castro took office.

The vice president of the National Congress of Honduras called the establishment of diplomatic ties with China a "historic moment," leading to excitement in Honduras when the news was announced. "We hope the commitment between Honduras and China, a big Asian country, will bear good fruit," Tomé said.

President Castro will soon pay an official visit to China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Honduras tweeted on Wednesday, but it did not specify the date.

Tomé said the president will be accompanied by an official delegation. "It will enable the diplomatic ties between the two countries to develop at the highest level, in the most transparent and participatory form, and achieve the results we expect."

He added that Honduras hopes to welcome more Chinese tourists, who will be able to see the country's beaches and historical buildings. "This will drive local employment, industries and development. We also want youngsters in Honduras to learn from China. It would be a precious opportunity. Hopefully, Chinese can become a popular language in Honduras."

Honduras will come up with new measures to attract Chinese tourists, Tomé said, including the arrangement of more convenient flights.

The ruling party of Honduras is also eager to conduct more frequent communications with the Communist Party of China (CPC). "We're learning from the CPC about its experience in leading China, such as how to develop the country into the world's second-largest economy. We don't have enough knowledge about it," Tomé said.

Asked in which fields Honduras would be interested in deepening cooperation with China, Tomé said the Belt and Road Initiative is an "interesting scheme."

He said that the two countries may consider infrastructure development in a deep-water port at Amapala, which could facilitate shipping between China and Honduras.

Tomé also mentioned his country's desire to strengthen cooperation with China in the telecom field. "China is leading the world in telecommunications, technology and science, which is an area where we look forward to working with them in the future."

He mentioned the impressive development of telecommunications and information technology in China's rural areas, adding that there is a lot of room for improvement in the rural areas of Honduras.

"China has a brilliant, world-renowned enterprise: Huawei. The company has a strong presence in Honduras," Tomé said.

"We expect that with the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Huawei will sign more cooperation agreements such as a technology exchange with Hondutel, a local telecommunications company in Honduras." Tomé said that Hondurans are also very fond of TikTok, the Chinese-owned short video social media platform .

Honduras' establishment of diplomatic ties with China will have a "deep impact" on the Central American and Caribbean area.

For Guatemala and Belize, the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Honduras and the benefits brought by the development of relations between the two countries will have a deep impact on the two societies, Tomé noted.