BEIJING, Feb 6 (Reuters) - China said on Friday that it was open to dialogue with Lithuania - remarks that come after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in its capital Vilnius as a “mistake”.
Inga Ruginienė, who became her country’s prime minister in September last year, told Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties.
“We hope Lithuania will translate its willingness to improve bilateral relations into concrete actions, promptly rectify its error, return to the correct path of adhering to the One-China principle, and lay the groundwork for normalising China-Lithuania relations,” said Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.
“The door for communication between China and Lithuania remains open,” Lin told a regular news conference.
In late 2021, China downgraded relations with Lithuania after the Baltic nation of 2.9 million people let Taiwan open a “Taiwanese” representative office on its soil.
Beijing views Taiwan as a Chinese province with no right to set up such offices in countries with which China has formal ties.
In contrast to Lithuania, countries such as Britain, the United States and Australia host offices that are usually known as “Taipei” representative offices, which avoids the implication of statehood and sovereignty.
Since the breakdown in relations with Beijing, Lithuania has recalled its ambassador in China and other diplomats. In late 2024, Lithuania expelled three Chinese diplomats stationed in the country’s Office of the Charge d’Affaires, declaring them as personae non gratae.
Last year, China banned Lithuanian banks UAB Urbo Bankas and AB Mano Bankas from carrying out transactions and cooperation with organisations and individuals within China.
“I think Lithuania really jumped in front of a train and lost,” Ruginienė told Baltic News Service in an interview.
(Reporting by Joe Cash; writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Edwina Gibbs)
