China has eased ‘economic pressure’ on Lithuania, says Baltic foreign minister amid ‘ongoing’ talks
“What I haven’t made so clear in the past is that Lithuania is no longer under any economic pressure from China,” he said, adding that while trade had not been fully restored it had been “more than compensated for” through trading with other Indo- Pacific countries.
“Businesses are not choosing China as a partner because of previous experiences and understanding that the country uses the economy as a tool.”
Lithuanian shipments to China were up 53 per cent over the first 10 months of the year from a year earlier, to US$110 million, according to Chinese customs statistics. But they stood 71 per cent lower than the first 10 months of 2021, before the trade ground to a halt.
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“The issue of the Taiwanese representative office is not part of our discussions with Beijing,” said Landsbergis. “It’s a question of how to alleviate the pressure on Lithuania, how to remove that pressure, which, in my view, runs contrary to international norms. I believe that with patience and skill this issue can be resolved.”
“The second tool that has been used against Lithuania is diplomatic pressure. China is demanding that Lithuania rename its diplomatic mission in Beijing in line with its model.
“But we have no such models in place. The talks on harmonising the ‘visions’ have been ongoing for the past year.”
Last week, Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the EU, made a rare explicit admission that Beijing had officially punished Lithuania for the affair.
“This concerns one of the fundamental principles of Chinese foreign policy, which is the one-China policy,” Fu said. “So if a country actually harms that basic principle, we will take responsive actions. I think that is understood.”
Asked by the Post whether China was open to normalising ties with Lithuania, Fu said he was not “privy to the diplomatic negotiations”.
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In Berlin on Tuesday, however, Landsbergis kept up his tough rhetoric against autocratic governments, without naming China individually.
“We’re definitely been watched, that’s for sure, we’re being watched by non-democratic actors, by those who have been mired in crises of their own for decades or even longer than that,” the Lithuanian diplomat told the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum.
“And now they’re trying to answer the question: how would we [in Europe] answer if they were to start a crisis?”
After his remarks, Landsbergis was seen greeting Taiwan’s top envoy in Berlin, Shieh Jhy-Wey.