Paraguay has expelled a Chinese envoy for allegedly interfering in its domestic affairs and urging the South American nation to break off ties with Taiwan.

In a curt statement on Thursday, Paraguay’s foreign ministry said it had revoked the visa of Xu Wei, a senior Chinese envoy to Latin America who was in Paraguay for an annual Unesco meeting, declaring him persona non grata “over interference in internal affairs”. The Chinese diplomat was given 24 hours to leave the country.

The day before, Xu skipped the Unesco session and instead turned up at congress in the capital of Asunción, where he caused a diplomatic stir by calling on Paraguay to ditch Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island of 23 million people that China claims as its territory.

Paraguay is the only nation in South America and one of just 12 worldwide that recognizes Taiwan as a country. The Paraguayan government has stayed firm in its commitment – even as Beijing ramps up its lobbying of foreign counterparts to stop recognizing the island.

In recent years, four countries in Latin America – Honduras, Panama, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador – have cut ties with Taiwan in favor of Beijing, whose one-China principle forces countries to choose between having full diplomatic relations with China or Taiwan.

From the halls of the futuristic congress building in Asunción that Taiwan helped fund, Xu stressed Beijing’s interest in establishing relations with Paraguay, but said the onus was on officials in Paraguay to make the first move.

“It is either China or Taiwan,” he said. “I recommend that the government of Paraguay make a correct decision as soon as possible.”

Addressing lawmakers, Xu dangled the prospect of expanded trade with Beijing among “thousands of other advantages”. Some members of the Paraguayan congress, citing farmers’ struggles to export soybeans and beef to China, have argued that the nation stands to benefit from a diplomatic flip in the long run.

China’s trade with South America has grown exponentially in recent years, reaching nearly $500bn as of 2023, according to data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

On Wednesday, the Taiwanese embassy in Paraguay lashed out at China on the social media platform X, calling Xu an “infiltrator” who seeks “to undermine the firm friendship between Paraguay and Taiwan” that dates back to 1957.