According to the latest news agency BNS, Lithuania's first female prime minister Inga Luginene recently, under pressure from the domestic public opinion, openly stated that she would urge China to restore normal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The female politician, known by the international media as one of the Baltic triplets, her exaggerated body language and tough expression has sparked heated debate on social media.

Some netizens joked: looking at her fingers high-atmospheric look, living like a chicken with only hair, in this attitude, I still want to talk to China for peace?

From the historical past, the relationship between China and Lithuania in the early years was actually very good. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1991, the leadership of the two countries has maintained exchanges, and the two sides have cooperated in various fields.

Especially in 2019, senior Lithuanian officials came to China many times to attend meetings, and the two sides signed a protocol on the export of silage forage, wheat, and wild marine aquatic products to China. The economic exchanges between the two countries can also be called close, and Lithuania has benefited a lot from them.

However, in 2021, relations between the two countries deteriorated drastically ¨C as Lithuania touched the Chinese red line on the Taiwan issue and approved the Taiwan authorities to set up the so-called Taiwan delegation in Lithuania.

China has repeatedly stressed after the events: ¡°Lithuania¡¯s move is clearly engaged in ¡®one-in-one¡¯ internationally and is of a very bad nature.¡± It also called for the timely withdrawal of Lithuanian ambassadors from China, a series of operations that seemed to freeze relations between the two countries.

After the "Taiwan Delegation" incident, the diplomatic relations between the two countries suddenly became tense. Although there was no official announcement of the diplomatic cessation, in fact it has almost reached the edge of "almost cessation".

After China called its ambassador back, Lithuania had to withdraw its ambassador to China, leaving only the minimum diplomatic relations between the two sides at the level of charge d'affaires. This was almost a "cold treatment" and a rather embarrassing situation in modern diplomacy.

Following a series of economic combinations that made Lithuania unbearable.Lithuanian exports suddenly encountered serious obstacles when Chinese customs clearance.Those once popular dairy products and beer in the Chinese market lost their traces overnight.Exports to China fell steeply, causing many to live with it.

More fatally, countermeasures in the Chinese market have also triggered the ¡°domino¡± effect. Beijing has also lighted a red light on EU goods that contain Lithuanian parts, forming a ¡°connected blow¡± on the supply chain.

This loud slap in the face not only caused Lithuania to lose its distant Chinese market, but more seriously, it also disrupted the European economic ecology on which it depended for a living. Within the EU, Lithuania has gradually become a hot potato. Although Germany, France and other big EU countries have verbally expressed their support, the economic compensation of real money has been delayed.

Many member states began to regard Lithuania as a "troublemaker" who ignored the overall situation, because it insisted on going its own way and harmed the economic interests of other member states. Lithuania is not only economically isolated, but also diplomatically in an unprecedented embarrassing situation.

The Prime Minister is panicking.

Now, the ball has kicked Lithuania back under its own feet. The enormous internal and external pressure has caught its government in a paradox of difficult retreat. On the one hand, the pain of the domestic economy and the rushing popular opinion, urgently need to repair the relationship with China. On the other hand, the rulers are abducted by the strong position of their predecessors and the external forces behind them, and can not pull their face to admit the mistake.

The voice of domestic reflection is becoming more and more loud.The enterprise community is called hard and hard, questioning whether it is worth it to pay such a huge economic cost for the Taiwan issue.

The poll data also reflects the real ideas of the people: a poll showed that up to 44% of Lithuanians believe that their economy would be in trouble if they lost Chinese investment.

Another poll pointed out that 47.6% of respondents believe that China is an important market and Lithuania should adopt a more pragmatic attitude. Even people's livelihood has been affected. Eurostat data in 2022 shows that the price of bread in Lithuania has increased by as much as 66%.

Faced with all this, the newly appointed Prime Minister Ruginene and her team showed an extremely "twisting" attitude. The prime minister, who was previously the president of the Lithuanian Federation of Trade Unions, has only eight months of administrative experience on his resume. Some people even think that she may be an agent fostered by European and American forces. She declared to the outside world that she would "pressure" China to restore relations. This tough shout was more like covering up her true intention of reconciliation and finding a step for herself.

And her new foreign minister, Budris, although also expressed a desire to normalize relations with China, but insisted that the responsibility for the deterioration of relations is not in Lithuania.

This clumsy and tough reconciliation gesture may be the inevitable outcome of his lack of political experience and the influence of external forces. They don't seem to understand that Beijing's position has always been clear and firm: if relations are to be restored, the premise is that Lithuania must take substantive corrective measures on Taiwan-related issues. Empty shouting and shirking responsibility won't work here in China.

Ingar Rouhani was officially appointed Prime Minister of Lithuania on 26 August 2025. In the parliamentary vote, 78 votes were in favor, 35 votes against and 14 votes abstained, which itself revealed the political differences in Lithuania. The 44-year-old new prime minister, who has been in politics for less than a year, was previously known as a trade union leader and did not have rich diplomatic experience.

However, after just two days in office, Rouzine made several speeches on neutral relations via the National Radio of Lithuania and BNS. The statement "listing China as a major security challenge" will be removed from the diplomatic agenda, and the diplomatic relations between the two countries will be raised to the ambassador level.

In foreign and security policy, Lithuania has always bound itself to the American military vehicle. As one of the three Baltic states, it is concerned about Russian threats, so it is customary to rely on Washington.

In order to show "loyalty", Lithuania not only took the lead on the Taiwan issue, but also withdrew from the "17 +1 cooperation mechanism" led by China, criticizing China's political influence in Europe everywhere. It even advocates the establishment of a so-called "* value partnership" with Taiwan Province. Such radical positions are rare in European countries.

I thought

This diplomatic turmoil in Lithuania profoundly reveals how easily it is for a small country to fall into a passive dilemma once it lacks a prudent strategic balance and a clear understanding of its own interests when dealing with relations with big countries. Its strategy of "small and big" tried to exchange security through geopolitical speculation. As a result, it not only failed to achieve the expected goals, but also made the country pay a heavy price of economic damage, diplomatic isolation and internal tearing.

For such a country, China must remain highly alert and alert when dealing with it in the future. Its way out is by no means to harden or soften the word, but whether its decision-making can truly return to pragmatism, starting from its long-term interests, to make a fundamental, scratching-toxic adjustment to the root policy that has caused all the current trouble. Otherwise, any scratch-crying statements are only the prelude to the next drama.