President Peña believes it is possible to move forward with negotiations as a whole, while the Asian giant is asking him to reconsider his position.
He Paraguayan President, Santiago Peñasaid last Wednesday that he was “fully open” to closing trade agreements with China through the Mercosurdespite the diplomatic ties that his country maintains with Taiwan.
Diplomatic support from Paraguay Taiwan has blocked grain exports from its local farmers to China, which claims sovereignty over the island. Paraguay is the only South American country that maintains formal relations with Taiwan, which opposes China’s sovereignty claims.
Mercosur, which continues in talks to finalize a trade agreement with the European Unionbut has also discussed a possible trade agreement with China in recent months.
“Our position with China is one of total openness,” Peña said about Paraguay’s position within Mercosur, adding that the obstacle was that China did not accept its recognition of Taiwan. “We are in favor of moving forward with trade agreements,” he added in an interview with Reuters.
China wants Paraguay on the “right side of history”
For its part, China hopes that the Paraguayan government will stand on “the right side of history,” according to its Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ningat a press conference on Thursday. Mao Ning also recalled that China considers trade and economic cooperation with Mercosur nations, as well as with other countries of the region, to be important. Latin America.
From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan They told Reuters that Pena has repeatedly and publicly expressed his support for their ties and that his continued support for Taiwan cannot be questioned. “Given China’s habit of unfairly selling products from other countries, we believe that Mercosur member states will carefully evaluate their economic and trade relations with China,” a statement said.
In turn, various Mercosur officials held a dialogue with their Chinese counterparts on August 12 in Montevideo“I see prudence on the part of Brazil“Peña said about the possible agreement with China. “I think the most interested party is Uruguay and we support this effort to have a conversation as a whole.”
Source: Ambito
