According to a brief statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the president will remain in China from June 9th to 14th at the invitation of her counterpart, Xi Jinping.

The President highlighted the importance of this visit for expanding “new political, technical, commercial, and cultural horizons” for Honduras, while her government mentioned the signing of “strategic and thematic cooperation agreements.”

The Honduran Foreign Minister, Eduardo Enrique Reina, recently referred to the negotiations to start a Free Trade Agreement, which will allow shrimp, bananas, melon, tobacco and beef to enter the Chinese market.

Honduras established ties with China on March 26th after breaking more than 80 years of ties with Taiwan, which now only has the recognition of 13 countries in the world.

Beijing appreciated the decision, saying it was ready to develop bilateral relations on the basis of equality and mutual respect. It also denied rumors that linked the move to China’s purchase of Honduras’ sovereign debt worth $2.5 billion.

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