In June, Panama broke official ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with China.

In an exclusive interview, Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela told CGTN’s Wang Guan why Panama chose to break official ties with Taiwan and establish diplomatic relations with China.

President Varela revealed that for a long time he wanted a relationship with China but Panama couldn’t do it because there was this “diplomatic truce”-a tacit agreement between Beijing and Taiwan’s anti-independence Kuomintang government that neither side would take countries away from each other-between Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

The Panamanian president also talked about US President Donald Trump’s position on Panama’s diplomatic switch, and what the new relationship means for China-Panama political, economic and people-to-people engagement.”