Beijing, July 11, 2025 (Lusa) - Researcher Cátia Miriam Costa believes that relations between Sao Tome and Principe and China remain discreet, despite being on the verge of celebrating a decade, with Beijing showing growing strategic interest in the archipelago’s position in the South Atlantic.

“Because neither country discusses the subject extensively, we have a limited understanding of the relationship’s depth. However, I believe the relationship still has room to expand,” the researcher at the Centre for International Studies at ISCTE - Lisbon University Institute told the Lusa news agency.

However, the archipelago’s geostrategic position in the Gulf of Guinea fuels Beijing’s interest, particularly in the context of China’s commitment to expanding logistics and maritime corridors in the South Atlantic.

“Sao Tome, while it is a port of modest logistical significance, serves as a valuable hub for controlling piracy and other threats. Beijing certainly recognised this strategic role,” she explained.

The re-establishment of formal ties in 2016, after two decades of Taiwan’s recognition by Sao Tome, was a “pragmatic” decision by the African country and a trump card for Beijing’s diplomacy, which always kept “channels open”, even during the period of estrangement, explained Cátia Miriam Costa.

“The relationship with China is more fruitful because it brings other benefits,” the researcher explained. “It was also because of these benefits that [in 1997] Sao Tome switched from the People’s Republic of China to Taiwan, because at that time the People’s Republic of China was a developing country. Therefore, Taiwan offered what the People’s Republic of China had yet to provide: perfect integration into the international market,” she said.

The severance of relations with Taipei took place in a context of growing diplomatic pressure from Beijing after the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party took power in Taiwan in 2016.

In December of that year, Sao Tome officially announced the establishment of relations with the People’s Republic of China, ending its recognition of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

The decision led to the immediate cancellation of scholarships offered by Taiwan to Sao Tomean students, and Chinese universities quickly integrated many of them. China soon became one of Sao Tome’s main cooperation partners, with promises of investment and support in areas such as education, technical training, agriculture and infrastructure.

The researcher recalled that Beijing maintained contact with Sao Tome even before they established formal relations, keeping the country involved in the activities of the Macau Forum, albeit only as an observer, a strategy she considers “typical of Chinese diplomacy”.

“China keeps its doors open. It may suspend relations, but if the matter involves national interest, the parties usually renegotiate,” she said.

Despite this, Cátia Miriam Costa acknowledged that the concrete results of cooperation remain limited.

“More projects exist on paper than actual works in progress,” she pointed out, attributing part of the responsibility to Sao Tome’s weak institutional capacity, which has only recently begun to create structures to attract and negotiate foreign investment.

Among the sectors with potential for deeper cooperation, the researcher highlighted fisheries, marine resources and, eventually, cocoa. Oil exploration, on the other hand, poses “high risks”, both due to technical complexity and environmental limitations.

“China is interested in the region, and Sao Tome offers a strategic location, stability and capacity for integration into a broader regional project,” she said.

The researcher also highlighted Chinese investment in teaching the Chinese language in Sao Tome, which also aims to “create a network of people who are fluent in the language, familiar with the culture and potentially useful for the future of bilateral relations”.

“China maintains a strategic interest in the relationship, and it expresses that interest with deliberate discretion. For a country like Sao Tome, any small amount of help can have a significant impact,” she concluded.

JPI/ADB // ADB.

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