Belgium-Taiwan relations: Balancing EU alignment and regional dynamics

Belgium has long maintained relatively warm relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Several of China’s first-generation communist leaders studied in Belgium during the interwar period, and although Belgium—like most Western European countries—continued to recognize the Chiang Kai-shek–led Republic of China (ROC) after 1949, informal connections with Beijing remained strong. By the 1950s, a plurality of Belgians supported establishing bilateral ties with Beijing. Elisabeth of Bavaria, often referred to as the “Red (Dowager) Queen,” drew considerable international attention when she visited Mao Zedong’s China in 1961. Against this backdrop, it is perhaps unsurprising that Belgium switched diplomatic recognition from the ROC to the PRC on October 25, 1971, the same day that the contentious United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 was adopted.

From the outset, however, Belgium adopted the so-called “Canadian formula” in its relations with the PRC: while acknowledging that there is “one China,” it merely “took note” of Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over Taiwan in the 1971 joint communiqué. This approach has allowed Belgium to maintain a pragmatic One-China policy while distinguishing it clearly from Beijing’s One-China principle.

Since the creation of the parliamentary friendship group Cercle de Parlementaires–Amis de Taiwan in 1993, relations between Brussels and Taipei have steadily deepened—supported by frequent parliamentary exchanges and the growth of alumni associations connecting Belgians and Taiwanese who have studied or conducted research in each other’s countries. In the early 2020s, these unofficial ties reached new heights, with Belgium’s federal and regional parliaments becoming increasingly active in their engagement with Taiwan.