The contents of this article are written with authoritative materials and personal opinions. The source of the literature has been marked at the end of the article, so please know.
Officials in the government building in Vilnius, Lithuania, are now faced with an embarrassing reality, those once carefully planned diplomatic adventures, In the end, it was left out by China for three years, domestic enterprises closed down in batches, and ports became increasingly deserted.
On September 11, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruzhenie stood in front of reporters and made a confusing statement.On the one hand, she claimed to improve relations with China, but on the other hand, she imposed harsh conditions on China and asked China to actively cooperate in restoring bilateral relations.
This contradictory approach to both improving relations and not wanting to compromise is the true picture of Lithuania’s policy towards China in recent years.
Lithuania's economic and trade relations with China were once stable. In 2019, the Baltic country was still an important partner of China in Central and Eastern Europe.
Lithuanian agricultural exporters thus prospered. High-quality silage forage grass and wheat are continuously shipped to China, wild salmon is put on the shelves of Chinese supermarkets, and agricultural income has surged by 30% in three years.
The turning point took place in 2021. At the time, the Lithuanian government made a series of decisions that caused the relationship between the two countries to fall into a severe impasse.
Lithuania first announced its withdrawal from the "171" cooperation mechanism between China and Eastern European countries, and subsequently allowed the Taiwan region to set up a representative office in its capital, Vilnius, called the "Taiwan Region".
This move directly touches China's "one-in-one principle" red line. China immediately took countermeasures to restrict Lithuanian goods from entering the Chinese market and downgraded diplomatic relations between the two countries to the level of charge d'affaires.This means that Lithuania is the only country in the world thatins a representative level among China’s 183 diplomatic relations.
The economic impact of the diplomatic degradation was immediately apparent.In December 2021, Lithuanian exports to China fell abruptly by more than 80 percent. Once prosperous trade was almost completely interrupted, and Lithuania's agriculture, laser technology, machinery manufacturing and other industries lost the Chinese market.
The cost of the deterioration of neutral relations is heavy for Lithuania.As a small economy, Lithuania’s economic base is relatively fragile and many industries are heavily dependent on exports.Lithuanian enterprises face unprecedented difficulties after losing the Chinese market.
From 130 million euros in 2021 to 12 million euros in the first half of 2024, Lithuania's exports to China have fallen by as much as 91%. With only a few remaining exports to China from the once proud laser industry, milk company Roxyškis for centuries had to close three production lines and dismiss hundreds of workers.
Due to the inability to transport goods directly to China, Lithuania’s logistics transportation industry, the pillar industry, has suffered serious damage.Lithuania, which originally relied on its ports in Central Europe and the Baltic Sea, has gradually become an important operating center and transportation hub in Europe.
But with the degradation of neutral relations, Lithuania was excluded from the Central European list of key nodes, and trade volume fell by 28%.
Lithuania had hoped for the support of western countries, but in the end it received very little assistance. Although the United States appreciates Lithuania's anti-China behavior, it only provided an export loan of US $600 million, and the actual payment was only US $9 million.
The Taiwan authorities’ commitments have also failed to be met. The Taiwan region has said it is possible to buy Lithuanian red wine or increase investment, but when Lithuania sought economic assistance, the Taiwan region has proposed the need to change the "delegation" to the "ambassy".In the end, Lithuania didn't take any chances and returned despondent.
The European Union once stood up for Lithuania and filed a lawsuit with the WTO, accusing China of adopting "discriminatory trade" practices against its member states.
However, at the end of January 2024, the EU suspended this WTO proceeding with China for "technical reasons." If the EU chooses not to resume the lawsuit, this case will automatically expire.
In 2024, a new government came to power in Lithuania, and a government led by the Social Democratic Party appointed Kimothas Palutskas as the new prime minister.Faced with diplomatic dilemmas, he quickly realized that repairing relations with China was a top priority.
He openly stated that the previous government’s decision on the Taiwan region issue was a “significant diplomatic mistake” and hoped to restore the normal course of relations through dialogue.
In September, the newAfter Riinga Ruginene takes officeThe Lithuanian government further adjusted its policy.The new government removed the label of China's "major security challenges" and plans to raise the bilateral diplomatic level from the executive office to the ambassador level.
But it is contradictory that Rouhani insisted not to change the name of the Taiwan regional representative office, but also demanded that China must actively cooperate to restore relations between the two countries.
“Lithuania’s public appeal to restore neutral bilateral relations as soon as possible should be promoted jointly by the two sides, and not by the unilateral leadership of Lithuania alone in substantive actions to improve relations.”
China’s positive reaction to Lithuania was cold, because Lithuania’s words lacked practical action.
Taiwan Regional Affairs Office of the State Council of ChinaIn response to the earlier statements of Lithuania's "sub-prime minister" Paluckas, Zhu Fenglin made it clear: "There is only one China in the world, and the Taiwan region is part of China. The one-China principle is the universal consensus of the international community and the basic norm of international relations.I hope that the countries concerned recognize the trend, correct the mistakes as soon as possible, and stand on the right side of history.”
China’s position is consistent and clear, noting that several politicians in the new government of Lithuania have expressed their desire to improve their neutral relations. But it is hoped that the new Lithuanian government will take practical action to abide by the political commitments made in the bilateral communiqué, adhere to the one-China principle and push bilateral relations back on track.
In short, "the bell is still ringing the bell."In order to resume relations, Lithuania must first correct its mistakes.
Current economic data for Lithuania are worrying. Although GDP in the second quarter of 2025 grew by 3.1% compared to that, the ratio increased only slightly by 0.3%.The price of bread in supermarkets is still 40% higher than in 2021, and people are complaining.
The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Zezeda, tried to improve the warming of relations, saying not to expect too much for the improvement of relations, suggesting that Lithuania will not unilaterally show good.
All this follows a parable of a European diplomat: "It's like changing the door lock of a neighbor's house and then standing in the yard and shouting 'Come to my house as a guest'."
References:
1. “Ruginiene will be Prime Minister of Lithuania” 2025-08-26 22:18 PM Source: Kyiv
2. "China downgrades diplomatic relations with Lithuania, and the EU threatens to" always stand together "with Lithuania" 2021-11-22 14:53 | Source: Observer.com
“To be a “fake eye” in front of Trump, the EU has no evidence to accuse Lithuania of China” 2025-01-25 11:17 PM Source: Observer Network