JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's government said on Friday that it had asked Taiwan to relocate its de facto embassy out of the capital Pretoria, while Taiwan accused it of bowing to pressure from China.

China on Friday lauded South Africa for pushing Taiwan’s representative office out of capital Pretoria, state media reported. “We appreciate South Africa's correct decision to move,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.

Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said South Africa’s democratic government severed political and diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1997, and the Taiwan offices will need to move to Joburg.

China lauds South Africa for pushing Taiwan’s representative office from Pretoria, state media reports - Anadolu Ajansı

South Africa has told Taiwan to move its de facto embassy out of its administrative capital at the urging of China, according to a Foreign Ministry official in Taipei — highlighting Beijing's expanding sway among developing nations.

South Africa asked Taiwan to move its liaison office out of the administrative capital, Pretoria, in order to emphasize the countries' "non-diplomatic" ties. China claims Taiwan as part of its own territory.