Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning urged Eswatini to cut ties with Taiwan at a press conference, saying: “It is not in Eswatini’s interest to develop official relations with the Taiwan region. We believe that Eswatini will eventually look to the prevailing global trend and make the right decision accordingly.” The statement reflects a broader diplomatic campaign launched by Beijing to isolate Taiwan from the international community since Tsai Ing-wen took office as Taiwan’s president in 2016.
China has been systematically poaching Taiwan’s diplomatic allies over the past years. In this regard, Beijing has attempted to convince Taiwan’s diplomatic allies that cooperation with China will help them achieve economic prosperity and sustainable development. In fact, this approach has been successful. When former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May 2016, Taiwan had 22 diplomatic allies. From 2016 to 2024, 10 countries—Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nauru—have ended diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of establishing ties with China. As a result, the number of countries that recognize Taiwan as an independent state has decreased from 22 to 12 (including the Vatican) since 2016. Beijing has also blocked Taiwan from participating in intergovernmental forums. Recently, World Health Organization (WHO) member states decided not to invite Taiwan as an observer to the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA) due to opposition from China, which considers Taiwan an integral part of its territory.
China’s efforts to isolate Taiwan serve four main purposes. The first is to make the Taiwanese government diplomatically vulnerable in the event of a conflict between China and Taiwan. Beijing seeks to limit Taipei’s ability to gain diplomatic support by blocking it from participating in intergovernmental forums and by forcing other countries not to formally recognize Taiwan as an independent nation. This is evidenced by the loss of diplomatic relations in Central America, where Taiwan once had relatively strong ties, and the shift away from Taiwan by countries such as Panama, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras.
The second goal is to force Taiwan into negotiations. By undermining Taiwan’s global standing (both by blocking its participation in intergovernmental forums and by depriving it of diplomatic allies), Beijing expects the Taiwanese government to be more likely to participate in bilateral talks on terms favorable to China. In other words, China uses Taiwan’s participation in intergovernmental meetings and diplomatic relations as a bargaining chip. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan sought to participate in WHO meetings, mechanisms, and activities to collaborate with other countries on research and development of vaccines and therapeutics. Despite its potential to contribute meaningfully to the global effort to combat the pandemic, Beijing refused to allow Taiwan to participate. Instead, China sought to negotiate the status of the “1992 Consensus,” which states that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China.
China’s third goal is to prevent interference by external forces, both state and non-state, in Taiwan affairs. Key foreign decision-makers in China see external interference as a major obstacle to China’s reunification with Taiwan. Beijing seeks to hinder or limit Taipei’s diplomatic interactions by pursuing a strategy of diplomatic isolation. One example of this strategy is when Lithuania allowed Taiwan to establish a representative office in Vilnius under the name Taiwan rather than Taipei, Beijing took a variety of punitive measures. These included trade restrictions, the suspension of freight trains to Lithuania, and a ban on imports of Lithuanian goods. In September 2023, Beijing also imposed sanctions on two U.S. defense industry companies, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, in response to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
The fourth and final goal of China is to delegitimize and discredit the Taipei government. Beijing has attempted to portray Taiwan as an illegitimate political entity and undermine the broader concept of Taiwan as a nation by isolating Taiwan internationally. Prior to the Tsai Ing-wen administration, Taiwan actively participated in various international forums, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), under the name “Chinese Taipei.” This was the result of an agreement reached between Beijing and Taipei during the presidency of Taiwan’s Ma Ying-jeou. However, since 2016, they have repeatedly refused to allow Taiwan to participate. Each exclusion from global forums reinforces Beijing’s narrative that Taiwan’s status is ambiguous and ultimately subordinate to China.
Back in Eswatini, Beijing’s warnings to not maintain relations with Taiwan are clearly part of a broader diplomatic pressure campaign that reflects a broader strategy to weaken Taiwan’s position on the world stage. Beijing likely sees this policy as making it harder for the Taiwanese government to resist ever-increasing pressure from China. By isolating Taipei, Beijing not only seeks to limit Taiwan’s ability to engage in international affairs, but also to make Taiwan more vulnerable, undermine its legitimacy, force it into unfavorable negotiations, and minimize external interference in what it sees as its domestic affairs.
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