I. Bilateral political relations

On July 12 1975, China and Sao Tome and Principe established diplomatic relations. On May 6 1997, Sao Tome and Principe announced the “establishment of diplomatic relations” with the Taiwan authorities. On July 11, the Chinese government announced the suspension of diplomatic relations with Sao Tome and Principe. In November 2013, the Chinese Liaison Office in Sao Tome and Principe was established. On December 20 2016, Sao Tome and Principe announced the “severing of diplomatic ties” with Taiwan. On December 26, Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister, and Urbino Botelho, Sao Tome and Principe Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities, signed in Beijing the Joint Communique on the Resumption of Diplomatic Ties between the People’s Republic of China and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe. In April 2017, President Xi Jinping met with visiting Prime Minister Trovoada and announced that the two countries would build a comprehensive cooperative partnership based on equality, mutual trust and win-win cooperation. In September 2024, the two countries established a strategic partnership.

Since the resumption of diplomatic ties, the important Chinese delegations to Sao Tome and Principe include: Foreign Minister Wang Yi (January 2018) and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Wang Chen (June 2019).

The important delegations of Sao Tome and Principe to China include: Prime Minister Trovoada (2017, in September 2018 attended the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, September 2024 attended the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and paid an official visit), Prime Minister Jorge Bom Jesus (in March 2019 attended the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference), Foreign Minister Elsa Teixeira Pinto (in June 2019 attended the Coordinators’ Meeting on the Implementation of the Outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation), Speaker of the National Assembly Delfim Neves (December 2019), Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Abnildo do Nascimento D’Oliveira (April 2024 attended the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries).

II. Bilateral economic and trade relations, and economic and technological cooperation

China and Sao Tome and Principe established the Joint Economic and Trade  Commission in April 2017 and held the first meeting of the commission in September of the same year. In 2024, bilateral trade volume reached 20.94 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 80% . Among this, China’s export volume was 20.92 million US dollars and the import volume was 17,000 US dollars.

III. Cooperation in other fields

From the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries to the suspension of diplomatic ties in 1997, China sent a total of 171 medical personnel of 12 batches to Sao Tome and Principe and accepted 25 students from Sao Tome and Principe to study in China. After the resumption of diplomatic relations in 2016, China resumed sending medical teams to Sao Tome and Principe and has dispatched seven batches so far. In April 2017, China and Sao Tome and Principe signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Implementation Plan for Chinese Tourist Groups Visiting Sao Tome and Principe, making Sao Tome and Principe a destination for Chinese citizens traveling in groups. In 2019, the first Confucius Institute in Sao Tome and Principe, the Confucius Institute at the University of Sao Tome and Principe, was inaugurated. In 2022, the Macao Special Administrative Region established a sister-city relationship with the Agua Grande Region of Sao Tome and Principe.

IV. Important bilateral agreements and documents

Joint Communique between the People’s Republic of China and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations (signed on July 12, 1975);

Joint Communique between the People’s Republic of China and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe on the Restoration of Diplomatic Relations (signed on December 26, 2016);

Memorandum of Understanding between the People’s Republic of China and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe on Cooperation within the Framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative (signed on December 9, 2021);

Joint Statement between the People’s Republic of China and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership (issued in September 2024);

Framework Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe on the Development of Economic Partnership (signed on September 6, 2024).