Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo on Friday said that China had rejected entry to some shipments from the Central American nation, speculating that this could be due to Guatemala’s diplomatic relationship with Taiwan.
The day before, Guatemala’s exporters’ association had reported that at least seven containers of macadamia nuts had been unable to enter China and that traders had been told Guatemalan macadamia and coffee would be denied entry.
“As you know, the inauguration of the new Taiwanese government, which Guatemala has ties with, was a few days ago,” Arevalo said in a live question-and-answer session on TikTok. “There could be some dispute with China related to this.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Ramiro Martinez attended the inauguration of President William Lai (賴清德) on Monday.
Arevalo said the Guatemalan government was working to resolve the issue but had not received a response from China.
Guatemala exported US$82 million of goods to China last year, the exporters’ association said.
Lai and Arevalo spoke via videoconference on Tuesday, with Lai thanking him for his staunch support and calling for the further strengthening of ties, a readout from the Presidential Office showed.
Lai invited Arevalo to visit Taiwan, while Arevalo invited Lai to come to Guatemala, the statement added.
Then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) went to Guatemala last year, a week after neighboring Honduras severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing.
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