São Tomé and Príncipe declared independence from Portugal on 12 July 1975 and recognized the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the same day.

[2] In February 1998, ROC Foreign Minister Jason Hu made an official visit to São Tomé and Príncipe.

[7] In 2013, the PRC established a trade office in São Tomé,[8] and the next year President Manuel Pinto da Costa visited China in a private capacity.

[12] Five days after ending its relationship with Taiwan, São Tomé and Príncipe resumed diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

Following São Tomé and Príncipe’s decision to recognize China in 2016, trade relations with Taiwan came to an abrupt halt and notably declined in the following year.