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.

South Africa has asked Taiwan to move its unofficial embassy out of the administrative capital, Pretoria, in a move that's seen as appeasing ally China. The South African foreign ministry said Friday that it had given Taiwan a “reasonable” timeframe of six months to relocate its “liaison office” to the commercial hub of Johannesburg.

South Africa defended the decision, saying it was meant only to reflect their 'nonpolitical and nondiplomatic' relationship

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.