Soon after taking office, Chen Shui-bian made "democratic diplomacy and friendship trips" to Latin America and Africa, where he visited a number of countries with which the ROC has diplomatic relations but which had not been visited by President Lee Teng-hui.
陳總統甫就職不久，即前往中南美洲及非洲等地進行「民主外交、友誼之旅」，其中有些邦交國是前總統李登輝從未往訪過的，陳總統的到訪，對於鞏固邦誼頗有助益。