Nov. 8 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Chinese authorities on Tuesday asked the Lithuanian government to reverse its recent progress in strengthening trade relations with Taiwan as soon as possible and stressed the importance of Vilnius adhering to the ‘one China’ principle with the that the Asian giant governs the territory.
The spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, has warned that it is important to “act prudently” in relation to Taiwan, a sensitive issue for China’s internal politics. Thus, he has stated that Lithuania must maintain and preserve “its bilateral relationship with China”, according to information from the newspaper ‘South China Morning Post’.
His words come a day after the Lithuanian authorities have proceeded to open their commercial office in Taiwan as relations with China worsen due to the rapprochement between the Government and the island’s authorities.
Economy Minister Ausrine Armonaite on Monday applauded the “achievements in cooperation with Taiwan” and said “I have no doubt that this decision will intensify work with this promising market.”
However, the move has led to increased tension with China and comes a year after Taipei opened a similar office in the Lithuanian capital, something that has been heavily criticized from Beijing.
In response, Chinese authorities reduced bilateral relations with Lithuania and imposed trade sanctions against the country, which also benefits from Taiwanese investments in its territory.
This same Tuesday, the spokeswoman for the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry, Joanne Ou, has expressed that the Vilnius decision is a “milestone” for relations between the parties. “Taiwan and Lithuania are partners fighting authoritarianism and share not only universal values of democracy and freedom but also challenges such as recovery from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine,” she said.
“With authoritarian countries using trade sanctions as a tool to threaten others, it will be useful for both of us to work together to find ways to achieve the desired economic development and guarantee the supply chain in a democratic world,” he concluded.
