China on Wednesday praised the three countries that refused to allow the Taiwanese president’s plane to use their airspace to visit the African nation of Eswatini, which led to him cancelling the trip altogether.

Lai Ching-te was set to fly through the airspace of Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar on Tuesday to visit Eswatini – Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa – but the three nations had revoked permission for his aircraft to fly over their territories.

This marks the first time a Taiwanese leader has had to cancel an overseas presidential trip due to such pressure.

A spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Beijing “appreciated the position and actions of the relevant countries in upholding the one-China principle”.

Spokesperson Zhang Han also refuted allegations that Beijing had applied economic pressure on Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar to block the presidential flight.

The Taiwanese government alleged that Beijing was behind the move, with an official stating: “The actual reason was intense pressure exerted by Chinese authorities, including economic coercion.”

China, which maintains strong economic and political links across Africa, considers democratically-governed Taiwan to be one of its provinces and does not recognise it as a sovereign country. It frequently calls the issue a “red line” in its diplomatic relations with other countries.

Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, remains among a small group of countries that still maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

A Madagascar foreign ministry official told Reuters: “Malagasy diplomacy recognises only one China. The decision was made in full respect of Madagascar’s sovereignty over its airspace.”

Seychelles also said that it took the decision because the nation does not recognise Taiwan. “The decision was taken independently and in accordance with established procedures,” Aline Morel, senior protocol officer at the foreign affairs ministry, said in an email to Reuters.

Mr Lai criticised China’s actions, calling them “suppressive” and warned that they threaten global stability. He added: “No threat or suppression can change Taiwan’s determination to engage with the world, nor can it negate Taiwan’s ability to contribute to the international community.”

Mr Lai was to take part in events marking 40 years since the accession of King Mswati III, the head of the Swazi royal family.

China’s foreign ministry also said the refusal by the three countries made it “clear...[that] the so-called ‘President of the Republic of China’ no longer exists in the world”, referring to Mr Lai’s title in Taiwan.

Eswatini said it was unfortunate that Mr Lai could not make the trip, but stressed that this would not “change the status of our longstanding bilateral relationship”.

This comes shortly after China introduced fresh outreach measures toward Taiwan, including loosening some food import restrictions, following a meeting in Beijing between Xi Jinping and Cheng Li-wun, the head of Taiwan’s largest opposition party, Kuomintang.

In January 2024, the Pacific island nation of Nauru cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and said that it would recognise China instead. The decision came just after Mr Lai, a critic of Beijing who has been called a “troublemaker” and a “separatist” by China, won Taiwan’s presidential election.

At the time, China welcomed the move and said it was ready to build relations with Nauru based on the “one-China principle”.

Other countries that have cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, allegedly under China’s pressure, are Honduras, Nicaragua, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.

One China has been acknowledged by the US since 1979, when president Jimmy Carter developed closer ties with Beijing, at the expense of contact with Taiwan. He was the last US president to speak to a Taiwanese leader. The US has since followed the One China policy in international relations, officially accepting Beijing as the only legitimate Chinese government.

China has since then held the One China principle as non-negotiable and said that it forms the political foundation for relations with the US, although America maintains a strategic relationship with Taiwan and has a small number of troops on the island.

In 2022, then US speaker Nancy Pelosi made a controversial trip to Taiwan in company with five Democratic representatives. China condemned the visit.