Taiwan has until the end of March to relocate its de facto embassy from Pretoria, the island’s Foreign Ministry announced, attributing the decision to increasing pressure from China.
South Africa’s government sent a letter in late January ordering the office to move and be rebranded as a trade office. Taiwan, which has not had formal diplomatic ties with South Africa since 1997, said discussions with Pretoria were ongoing.
China’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the move, calling South Africa a “good friend and partner” and reaffirming its commitment to the “one China principle,” which regards Taiwan as part of China. Beijing said Taiwan’s independence efforts lack international support and are destined to fail.
South Africa’s foreign ministry confirmed it is working with Taiwan’s office to align its diplomatic classification with official policy. The request to relocate the office was first raised last year.
China is South Africa’s largest trading partner, with growing collaboration in areas such as renewable energy. Taiwan, which rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, maintains official ties with only 12 countries, with Eswatini being its only ally in Africa.
