Beijing, June 11 (RHC)-- Honduras has opened an embassy in Beijing, according to the Chinese state media, months after the Central American nation broke off relations with Taiwan to form diplomatic ties with Beijing.

China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Honduran counterpart Enrique Reina took part in the inauguration of the embassy on Sunday morning, China’s official CCTV reported on Sunday.  It said Honduras still needed to determine the embassy’s permanent location and would increase its number of staff.

Qin pledged that China would establish a new model with Honduras of “friendly cooperation” between countries with different sizes and systems, according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.

Honduras established formal relations with China in March, becoming the latest in a string of countries to break diplomatic ties with Taiwan.  China sees self-governed Taiwan as a breakaway province, to be retaken by force if necessary, and prohibits its own diplomatic partners from having formal ties with Taipei.

Xiomara Castro arrived in Shanghai on Friday on her first visit since the establishment of relations. During her stay in Shanghai, she visited the headquarters of the New Development Bank, a bank established by the BRICS nations, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.  Honduras requested admission to the bank, Castro’s office tweeted on Saturday.

The president also visited a research center for technology giant Huawei before arriving in Beijing on Saturday night, China’s official Global Times newspaper reported.