Honduran President Xiomara Castro announced her country's intention to establish diplomatic relations with China, while Taiwan appealed to her to back down from this step.

On Tuesday, Castro said - in a tweet on Twitter - that she had instructed Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina "to undertake the establishment of official relations with the People's Republic of China."

Reina said - in a televised interview - that matters should be dealt with pragmatically and look forward to what is in the interest of the people of Honduras.

For his part, opposition lawmaker Thomas Zambrano said the decision could negatively affect relations with the United States, which is Honduras' main trading partner.

This step comes at a time when Honduras is negotiating with China to build a new hydroelectric dam, and Beijing had previously funded the construction of a dam worth $300 million.

Castro had talked during her election campaign about the possibility of severing relations with Taiwan and establishing relations with China if she won the presidency, but she indicated early last year that she wanted to maintain relations with Taipei.

Honduras flag (center) at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Taipei (Reuters)

Taipei and Beijing are attached

In Taipei, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry appealed to Honduras not to take what it described as a wrong decision that would harm the long-standing friendship between Taiwan and Honduras by establishing official relations with China.

For his part, Chinese Ambassador to Mexico Zhang Run congratulated Honduras for what he described as the right decision to establish diplomatic relations with China, stressing the "one-China" principle.

Honduras is among only 14 countries in the world that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which China considers an integral part of its territory.

President Xiomara Castro's decision precedes a tour scheduled to be undertaken by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen next month in the Central American region, including Guatemala and Belize.

Earlier, the Paraguayan opposition candidate, Efraín Alegre, said that if he won the presidency, he would sever relations with Taiwan and establish relations with China.

Between 2007 and 2021, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Nicaragua cut ties with Taipei and established ties with Beijing.