China Tells Citizens to Leave Taiwan-Allied Eswatini Amid Diplomatic Tensions

China has advised its citizens and institutions in Eswatini to leave the southern African kingdom or relocate to safer areas, citing what Beijing describes as an unusually serious security situation involving cyber fraud, illegal gambling and threats to public safety.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry's consular affairs department issued the warning on Tuesday, telling Chinese nationals already in Eswatini to evacuate as soon as possible or move to places such as neighbouring South Africa. It also advised against travelling to the country, warning that those who remained could face significant security risks and delays in receiving consular assistance.

China has defended the decision as a normal consular measure rather than a political move. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing had reached the decision after a careful assessment and was acting to protect Chinese citizens overseas. He cited what he described as widespread telecommunications fraud and online gambling, alongside what he said were extremely high public-order and safety risks.

Eswatini, however, strongly disputes that assessment. Acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said the kingdom respected China's right to issue travel advice but rejected the suggestion that Eswatini posed an exceptional or widespread threat to visitors and residents.

The Eswatini government said recent police operations involving foreign nationals, many of them Chinese, were directed at suspected organised cyber-related criminal activity. Rather than demonstrating a breakdown in security, Mdluli said, the operations showed that Eswatini's law-enforcement agencies were capable of detecting and disrupting such activity. The government described the country as peaceful and stable and warned against portraying an individual criminal investigation as evidence of systemic insecurity.

The dispute follows a series of arrests involving Chinese nationals. Local reports say dozens of Chinese citizens have been caught up in an Eswatini crackdown on suspected illegal online gambling and related offences. The Times of Eswatini has reported that 40 Chinese nationals have remained at the centre of a legal dispute after being detained following earlier arrests, with their lawyers challenging their continued detention.

Beijing's warning has nevertheless attracted attention well beyond the immediate security issue because of Eswatini's unusual place in the China-Taiwan diplomatic contest.

Eswatini is the only African country that maintains formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and one of just 12 governments worldwide that recognize Taipei diplomatically. China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has spent years attempting to persuade countries that maintain relations with Taipei to switch recognition to Beijing.

The timing is particularly notable. Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te visited Eswatini in May after an earlier attempt to travel there was disrupted when several countries withdrew overflight permissions for his aircraft. Taiwan accused Beijing of pressuring those countries to interfere with the visit, while China rejected the accusation and criticized Lai's trip.

The latest development comes after another move that highlighted the unusual relationship between Beijing and Mbabane. China introduced a zero-tariff policy for African countries earlier this year but excluded Eswatini, further underscoring the economic consequences of the kingdom's decision to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

At the same time, Chinese economic interests in Eswatini have not disappeared. Chinese companies and nationals remain active in the country, while a Chinese state-owned construction company has been involved in a major dam project. Official figures cited by the Taipei Times show that more than 3,200 Chinese visitors travelled to Eswatini last year, indicating that the two countries remain connected economically despite their lack of formal diplomatic relations.

Beijing has not explicitly linked the evacuation advisory to Eswatini's relationship with Taiwan. That distinction matters, particularly because security concerns involving organized crime can be genuine and governments routinely issue travel warnings to protect their nationals. But the diplomatic backdrop makes the move difficult to view entirely in isolation, especially after months of increasingly visible Chinese pressure surrounding Taiwan's engagement with its last African ally.

For Eswatini, the issue is also one of sovereignty. Its government has stressed that its diplomatic relationships are its own decision and said it would not accept pressure or destabilization because of the choices it makes in foreign policy. That position puts the kingdom in a delicate position: maintaining its longstanding relationship with Taiwan while continuing to manage economic and security interactions with a much larger China.

The immediate dispute may be framed around the safety of Chinese citizens, but its wider significance is unmistakably diplomatic. Eswatini has become one of the few remaining places where Taiwan's international recognition is still formally maintained in the face of China's expanding influence. As Beijing increases pressure on Taipei's remaining allies, the small southern African kingdom is likely to remain an important test of whether economic weight and diplomatic pressure can eventually overcome a country's decision to maintain ties with Taiwan.