Paraguay 'would love' more trade with China, but Taiwan better for development

Paraguay's Pena pledges to maintain ties with Taiwan, seeks to move economy up value chain. Pena committed to Taiwan, wants to increase trade with China, but seeks to move economy up value chain to add value to exports.

Paraguay "would love" to do more trade with China, but Taiwan offers the best bet for moving the largely agricultural economy up the value chain, the country's President-elect Santiago Pena said on Saturday on a visit to Taipei.

Paraguay is the last South American country with formal relations with Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory. Honduras ended decades of ties in favour of Beijing this year, and only 13 countries now recognise Taiwan.

Mr. Pena pledged during his election campaign to maintain more than six decades of relations with Taiwan despite pressure from Paraguay's agricultural sector, which wants to open up lucrative Chinese markets to soybeans and beef.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Pena said he was "fully committed" to Taiwan and happy with his meetings this week, which have included with President Tsai Ing-wen and Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua.

"We have no constraints on doing trade with China. We would love to do more trade with the PRC," he said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

But Paraguay cannot rely on a single market, as a small country does not have the same negotiating clout as Brazil or the United States and does not want to be flooded with Chinese goods while only be able to export raw materials.

"Paraguay is a powerhouse on food production, but still at a very early stage. We provide very low value-added goods. Grains, soy and beef," he said.