UPDATE 1-U.S. says China seeks domination after El Salvador ditches Taiwan

Self-ruled Taiwan now has formal relations with only 17 countries, almost all of them small and less developed nations in Central America and the Pacific, including Belize and Nauru.

The United States on Thursday attacked El Salvador's decision to ditch diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China, saying the move was of grave concern to Washington and warning that China was offering economic inducements to seek domination.

Self-ruled Taiwan now has formal relations with only 17 countries, almost all of them small and less developed nations in Central America and the Pacific, including Belize and Nauru.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen this week vowed to fight China's "increasingly out of control" behavior as El Salvador became the third country to switch allegiance to Beijing this year. China views Taiwan as a wayward province, with no right to state-to-state ties.

In a statement likely to inflame already strained relations with Beijing, the White House said El Salvador's government had made the decision "in a non-transparent fashion only months before they leave office".

"The El Salvadoran government's receptiveness to China's apparent interference in the domestic politics of a Western Hemisphere country is of grave concern to the United States, and will result in a reevaluation of our relationship with El Salvador," it said.

Countries wanting to open or expand ties with China to get state-directed investment for short-term economic growth and infrastructure may be disappointed in the long run, the White House said.

"Around the world, governments are waking up to the fact that China's economic inducements facilitate economic dependency and domination, not a partnership," it said.

Taiwan has accused China of luring its friends away with offers of generous aid packages. China denies that.

There was no immediate response in Taipei or Beijing to the White House statement.

Washington does not have diplomatic relations with Taipei but is the democratic island's main arms supplier and strongest international backer.

China's hostility to Taiwan has grown since Tsai's election two years ago as Beijing fears she wishes to push for the island's formal independence, a red line for China. She says she wants to maintain the status quo but will defend Taiwan's democracy.

China has stepped up efforts to restrict Taiwan's international presence, including ordering foreign airlines to list Taiwan as part of China on their websites, and has been conducting regular military drills near the island.

The White House added that the United States will continue to oppose China's "destabilization of the cross-Strait relationship and political interference in the Western Hemisphere". (Reporting by Steve Holland and Yimou Lee; Additional reporting and writing by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Neil Fullick and Philip McClellan)

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