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China has re-established diplomatic ties with Sao Tome and Principe after the latter cut relations with Taiwan last week.

Sao Tome and Principe Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada said on Thursday that breaking relations with Taiwan was the correct decision given China’s importance as a strategic partner and the need to improve the lives of Sao Tomeans.

Beijing made the announcement on Monday at a ceremony at a state guesthouse.

Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province ineligible for state-to-state relations, had as many as 30 diplomatic allies in the mid-1990s, but now has formal relations with just 21, mostly smaller and poorer nations in Latin America and the Pacific.