The Chinese official Zhao Rukuo in 1225 CE mentioned Timor in his collected notes from traders as a location rich in sandalwood.

Although Santalum album is found across many parts of the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, the highest quality white sandalwood was considered to come from Timor, the Lesser Sunda Islands.

The Chinese traded porcelain, glass and silver with the Timorese for the sandalwood, which was used in China for ritual and medicinal purposes.

The Portuguese had recently reached East Asia, filling the gap in the trade routes between the Lesser Sunda Islands and China.

In the middle of the 17th century CE around twenty Junks visited the island of Timor each year, bringing rice and other goods.

During a revolt of native troops serving in the colonial military, the leader of the Chinese community of Dili, the Capitão China, was murdered.

In 1926 a statue of Buddha was brought over from China, and from 1928 onwards stood in the new Guan Yu Temple which neighboured the government palace.

When East Timor unilaterally declared independence on 28 November 1975, the People's Republic of China was one of the few countries which granted it official recognition.

However, only nine days later the Indonesian military occupied East Timor, with many of the Chinese community being killed or fleeing to Australia during the invasion.

[4] According to research by Loro Horta, son of José Ramos-Horta, the People's Republic of China attempted to support the FALINTIL resistance with delivery of weapons.

However, an ocean blockade by Australian and Indonesian warships stopped this from being successful, and the armaments, including weaponry for 8,000 soldiers, artillery and anti-tank weapons were instead sent to Mozambique, where they were given to rebels fighting against the RENAMO.

After the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, the engagement between China and East Timor dropped away, having almost entirely ceased by 1978 except for some limited contact via individuals and financial assistance for the Timorese resistance which was helped through by Chinese businesspeople.

The majority, about two-thirds, of East Timorese Hakka migrated to Australia during the era of Indonesian occupation, mainly living in Darwin, Sydney and Melbourne with smaller communities in Brisbane and Perth, where they have formed tight-knit bonds and go to "extraordinary lengths" to meet and hold cultural events with other Chinese-Timorese, rejecting identification with other Chinese and Timorese communities.

[5] Furthermore, in the aftermath of the riots that followed the independence process in 2002, many businesses owned by ethnic Chinese in Dili were targeted for arson attacks.

[7] While East Timorese Hakka shows some closeness to the Meixian dialect, it exhibits a number of unique features and words.