China has dropped trade measures targeting Lithuania that the Baltic nation deemed illegal as the two governments discuss how to gradually move toward normalizing diplomatic relations.
A regime of “economic coercion” that was challenged at the WTO, including Lithuania being “deleted from the customs systems so no business are able to export to China,” has ended, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters in an interview on Monday.
Lithuania became embroiled in a dispute with China in 2021 after allowing Taiwan to set up a representative office under the nation’s name.
Photo: Reuters
China responded by withdrawing its ambassador to Lithuania and imposing an effective trade ban on the EU member state.
Landsbergis said that while the block on goods had now been lifted, businesses were still wary about conducting trade with China.
“There’s a huge trust issue, not just from the government, but from the business as well,” he said. “Since it has been done in the past, nobody can be sure that it cannot be repeated because it’s a non-rules-based approach.”
Chinese official customs data show little recovery in direct bilateral trade.
Imports from Lithuania were down more than 70 percent in the first 10 months of this year compared with the same period in 2021, before the row broke out.
Trade between Beijing and Lithuania collapsed in the months after the spat, with China only importing US$60,000 of goods from Lithuania in January last year, a 99.8 percent drop from a year earlier.
The EU responded on behalf of Lithuania, taking China to the WTO.
That case is still pending.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated that Lithuania’s action on Taiwan was “wrong” and that its response was “legitimate” in protecting its interests.
“The problem is fundamentally with the Lithuanian side,” it said in a written response. “China has always acted in accordance with WTO rules and will handle relevant issues in accordance with relevant rules.”
Landsbergis said his government had been talking to China for almost two years about normalizing diplomatic relations.
“We’re having a conversation, which, I am saying, with patience, I think could provide some opportunities,” he said.
Neither side has officially reinstated its diplomats in the other country.
Leaders from the EU are expected to travel to China next week for an annual summit.
Any reduction of tensions with Lithuania might help in removing one point of conflict between the two sides.
There has also been no change to the name of Taiwan’s representative office in Vilnius, the deputy head of the Department of European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei said.
“This is a non-issue,” he said at a regular briefing on Tuesday.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we