Panama’s president Juan Carlos Varela said the country has established formal diplomatic relations with China, breaking longstanding ties with the Republic of China, known as Taiwan, the Financial Times reports. The decision broadcast on television in Panama leaves Taiwan with 20 diplomatic allies, 11 of which are in Latin America and the Caribbean. The island also has ties with the Holy See. Varela said on Twitter China is the second-largest user of the Panama Canal and that diplomatic ties with the country represented new job opportunities for people in Panama. Panama had held ties with Taiwan, or the Republic of China, for more than a century, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency. Its annual gross domestic product was among the highest of Taiwan’s allies, according to World Bank Data for 2015.