The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday said it was not aware of Gambia's decision to cut off its diplomatic ties with Taiwan, adding it had no contact with authorities in the West African state.

Gambia announced that it had broken off 18 years of diplomatic ties with Taiwan out of its own national interests.

"Despite the end of diplomatic ties with Taiwan, we will still remain friends with the people of Taiwan," said a statement from Gambian President Yahya Jammeh's office on Thursday.

Jammeh's announcement made Gambia the first country to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan since Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008.

Simon Ko, Taiwan's deputy chief of foreign affairs, told a news conference that Taipei felt "shock and regret" at the move.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Friday said they learned of the news from foreign media. "There was no contact between China and Gambia ahead of this," he said.

"There is only one China in the world. Adherence to the one-China principle is a common understanding of the international community and supporting China to realize peaceful reunification is the general trend of the times," Hong added.

He Wenping, an expert on African studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Gambia's decision has no impact on cross-Straits ties.

"The current relations between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan is rather stable and there is no need for us to force the other countries to add pressure on Taiwan," He said.

She added that Gambia made the decision for the purpose of its economic development.

"The Chinese mainland has put forward a series of preferential policies for African countries" that might attract Gambia to pursue a closer relationship with the Chinese mainland, she said.

Taiwan has poured millions of dollars into the health, education, agriculture and infrastructure sectors of resource-poor Gambia, the smallest country on the African mainland.

In 2010, Gambian President Jammeh said Taiwan was "one of the best friends that Gambia has ever had", pledging to "give them all the necessary support".

Gambia is the second African state to announce a change in its diplomatic relationship with China this week.

Officials of Sao Tome and Principe said on Tuesday that the Chinese mainland planned to open a trade mission to promote projects there, marking the first commercial interaction since the two sides broke off relations 16 years ago.

Sao Tome officials did not say whether the new cooperation deal would affect diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

China Daily-AFP-Reuters