China will give El Salvador $150 million to spur development of social and technological projects, the Salvadoran president said on Wednesday, the latest sign of deepening ties between the countries that has alarmed the United States.
Salvadoran President Salvador Sanchez Ceren is returning from his first trip to China since the countries established diplomatic ties in August. Speaking on local television, Ceren said he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the visit and agreed to 13 joint projects, without providing details.
The donation marks China's latest gambit to make inroads in Central America, a campaign that has drawn the ire of the United States. Earlier this year, El Salvador cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China, following the Dominican Republic and Panama. The United States promptly recalled its ambassadors in the region.
"This historic meeting between the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of El Salvador has produced excellent results," Ceren said. "This confirms that the establishment of diplomatic relations with China is my government's most important decision in foreign policy."
Representatives for the Chinese government were not immediately available for comment.
The date when the funds will be received has not been set, a spokesman for the Salvadoran government said. China will also donate three thousand tons of rice to support Salvadorans who are reeling from a drought in July and floods in October, Ceren said.
The White House warned in August that China was luring countries with incentives that "facilitate economic dependence and domination, not partnership.” Self-ruled Taiwan has formal relations with a dwindling number of countries, almost all of them small and less developed nations in Central America and the Pacific.
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