Taiwan Pays The Price For $40b Chinese Investment In Nigeria

Taiwan has been ordered by the Federal Government to move its trade office from Abuja, to Lagos after a visit by the Chinese foreign minister when his government pledged a $40bn (£32.5bn) investment in infrastructure.

China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province, and does not recognise its sovereignty as an independent nation.

Taiwan’s foreign office condemned Nigeria “for collaborating with China’s political goal to engage in unreasonable, barbaric, rough and violent political manipulation”.

But a spokesman of China’s foreign ministry said it regarded Nigeria’s action as support for its “one-China principle”.

Nigeria has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which is only recognised by 21 countries.

According to the Reuters news agency, in countries with which Taiwan has no formal diplomatic relations it often sets up trade and commerce offices.

For years China and Taiwan have been locked in a bitter diplomatic tug-of-war, luring away each other’s allies with generous financial packages in so-called “cheque-book diplomacy”, the AFP news agency reports.