China Restores Diplomatic Relations With Island Nation of Sao Tome and Principe

China re-established diplomatic ties with Sao Tome and Principe, an island state located along the equator off the coast of Africa that has recently broken off relations with Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Monday.

BEIJING (Sputnik) – The foreign ministers of China and the island state held talks on Monday, which resulted in a joint communique on the resumption of relations between the two countries, according to the ministry's statement.

Last week, Sao Tome and Principe announced severing ties with Taiwan, which is a necessary condition for maintaining a diplomatic relationship with China.

Earlier on Monday, China criticized a US defense policy bill, signed by President Barack Obama on Friday, that includes the provision on cooperation with Taiwan.

After Chinese Nationalist forces were defeated by Mao Zedong’s Communists, the Nationalist government moved to Taiwan in 1949. Since then, Beijing has viewed the self-ruled, democratic island as a breakaway province. The United States, along with many other countries, does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation and sticks officially to the "One China" position, but has kept informal relations with the island after severing diplomatic ties with it in 1979.

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