The Republic of Montenegro has become the 168th country to establish diplomatic relations with China, after the two nations signed a joint communique to forge ambassadorial-level ties.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and his Montenegrin counterpart Miodrag Vlahovic inked the formal document in Beijing yesterday.

Newly-formed Montenegro "recognizes that there is but one China in the world, that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory," the communique says.

"It opposes 'Taiwan independence' of any form and opposes Taiwan's accession to any international or regional organizations whose membership applies only to sovereign states."

Montenegro undertakes not to establish official relations of any form or have any official exchanges with Taiwan, according to the document.

The new European state's diplomatic recognition of Beijing signalled the failure of diplomatic manoeuvres by Taiwan, which is currently recognized by only 25 nations, most of which are in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

During his talks with Vlahovic, Li expressed his appreciation of Montenegro's explicit opposition to "Taiwan independence" of any form.

"China respects the choice of Montenegrin people as well as Montenegro's sovereign and territorial integrity," he said.

The tiny Balkan republic of Montenegro proclaimed its independence on June 4, following a May 21 referendum in which a slight majority of Montenegrins voted to split from a joint union with Serbia.

China was one of the first countries to recognize Montenegro, with Li writing to Vlahovic just 10 days later, announcing China's recognition of the nation's formal independence.

Vlahovic yesterday expressed his thanks for China's timely recognition of his country, suggesting that was why he had chosen China for his second foreign visit, after neighbouring Serbia.

"As a major power in the world, China plays a very important role in international affairs," he said, adding that his country attaches great importance to its relations with China.

In the communique, the two countries also agree to provide each other with all the necessary assistance for the establishment of their respective embassies.

Kong Quan, director-general of the Department of European Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, told China Daily that the former Chinese consulate-general in Podgorica, capital of Montenegro, was upgraded to the Chinese Embassy yesterday.

Montenegro has yet to build its embassy in Beijing, he said.

Montenegro became the 192nd member of the United Nations on June 28 after the UN General Assembly of 191 nations admitted the tiny country of 650,000 people to the world body.

Serbia-Montenegro, which was formed from remnants of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in February 2003, was a loose union with only limited ministries of foreign affairs, defence and human rights.

Despite their union, Montenegro and Serbia maintained different laws, customs, currencies and border services.

Source: China Daily