Lithuania – Lithuania must “correct its mistakes and return to the right track of the one-China principle,” according to Wang Wenbin of China’s Foreign Ministry.
China’s relations with Lithuania cooled after the latter opened an office for trade in Taiwan last year, angering Beijing, which regards the country as a breakaway province that should rightfully be under its control. This angered China, causing it to recall its ambassador to Vilnus, decrease the level of its diplomatic relations with the country, and enact a de facto embargo on Lithuanian goods.
Vilnius made this gamble as it stands to profit from the relationship. Earlier this year the Lithuanian company Teltonika signed an agreement with Taiwan’s Technology Research Institute to share semiconductor chips. Later in the year Taiwan also said that it will be investing in biomedical research in Lithuania.
Lithuania nevertheless seems to be trying to avoid being seen as too close to Taipei, as its representatives have so far avoided meeting with Taiwanese politicians. Lithuania’s foeign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also affirmed last month that “[w]e subscribe to the ‘one China’ policy, which implies that we have no official contacts [with Taiwan].” The country has further claimed that it has economic and cultural rather than diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Whether this difficult diplomatic balancing act can work remains to be seen. While Lithuania was the first member state of China’s 17+1 initiative to normalize relations with Taipei, it is now attempting to reconcile itself with Beijing at the same time that the EU as a bloc is striving for the same goal. It is probably not a coincidence that Landsbergis announced Lithuania’s intention of normalizing its relations with China on the same day that the EU is seeking to reengage with China.
China’s Ministry for Commerce, for its part, said that Lithuania should correct its “erroneous behaviors on Taiwan-related issues” and return to attempting to improve its trade relations with Beijing.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, nevertheless recently stated his country’s relations with Lithuania are “developing well.”