Grenada's prime minister visited Beijing this week in what rival Taiwan worried was a possible prelude to switching diplomatic relations to China. But the Caribbean leader left without any change in status, giving Taipei at least a temporary reprieve. Prime Minister Keith Mitchell's visit appeared to be the latest round in a long-running competition by Beijing and Taipei for ties with some of the world's smallest, poorest countries. Mitchell's government had said he wanted Chinese aid for hurricane relief and economic development. His visit ended Thursday with no word of an aid package, suggesting China's bid might have been too low to woo Grenada away from Taiwan, which offered millions of dollars after Hurricane Ivan hammered the island this year. China said Tuesday it would be happy to see Grenada cut ties to Taipei. Taiwan wants such relations as proof of its status as a sovereign government. The communist Beijing government tries to block them to support its claim that Taiwan, split from the mainland since 1949, is part of its territory. "We would like to restore diplomatic relations with Grenada," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. "Normal diplomatic relations will contribute to the flow of trade between the two sides." Grenada is one of just 27 nations that recognize Taipei instead of Beijing. Most are in Africa or Latin America and receive generous aid in exchange for recognizing Taiwan. Mitchell met with Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and other Chinese officials _ unusually high-level hospitality for a leader whose government isn't recognized by Beijing. Taiwan said before Mitchell's trip that it was watching closely and would try to convince Grenada that maintaining relations with Taipei was the best choice. Beijing offers its partners some aid, but also can draw on its dominant status as a major economy and a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, with power to veto U.N. actions. The Taiwanese pulled off a diplomatic coup recently by getting the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu to recognize Taipei, which would require it to cut ties with Beijing. But some Vanuatu officials opposed the move and Prime Minister Serge Vohor was replaced after a no-confidence vote in parliament. China said this week that Vanuatu had revoked its agreements with Taiwan. Reprinted from asia.news.yahoo.com