Altogether, 30 African countries at one time or another maintained formal relations with Taiwan, but today it is a politically-marginalized actor with a minuscule presence, mostly confined to the pursuit of economic interests.
This has attracted scores of African countries which established relations with China. Only Eswatini formerly known as Swaziland formally recognizes Taiwan.
Taiwan has essentially lost its diplomatic battle with China in Africa and has to look for alternative sources of legitimacy in the 21 st century. Both asserted themselves as the sole legitimate representative of China and used diplomatic allies in Africa to support their individual claims, which were mutually exclusive, making diplomatic recognition a zero-sum game. Directly after , several countries had no relations with either side, as they were waiting for a final settlement. Taiwan first made a connection with South Africa, then one of three independent African countries.
Cold War rationales initially benefited Taiwan; newly independent countries, such as Zaire, were suspicious of communism and moved to recognize Taiwan. The first technical cooperation agreement was signed with Liberia in and, in the following years, Taiwan sent agricultural teams to provide technical training in several African countries. These countries were impressed by the increased output of rice production in Libya and the miracle of rice cultivation in the Libyan desert , and they hoped to reach food sufficiency through the Taiwanese technical assistance.
Taipei initiated economic diplomacy β with a whole range of economic instruments, including trade, aid, and investment β despite its own reliance on US aid. After , the number of UN members increased with the admission of other countries that had gained independence.
