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China–Lithuania relations

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China–Lithuanian relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the People's Republic of China (China) and Lithuania. The PRC has a chargé d'affaires in Vilnius. In December 2021, Lithuania closed its embassy in Beijing[1]

China–Lithuania relations
Map indicating locations of China and Lithuania

China
Lithuania

History

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Early contacts

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The first ideas to establish the contacts between, at that time, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and China can be traced back to the 16th century, when Jesuits established the Vilnius University and set themselves a goal to spread science and Catholicism further East—especially China.[2] The first Lithuanian missionary Andrius Rudamina arrived to Ming China in 1625.[3]

After the Union of Lublin in 1569, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. One of the early attempts at diplomacy was in the second half of the 17th century when John III Sobieski of Poland–Lithuania attempted to negotiate friendly relations with Kangxi Emperor.[4] In late 18th century, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth began to decline and was eventually partitioned by the neighbouring powers. In 1864, following the January Uprising, some Lithuanians were deported to Siberia from where they managed to move to Manchuria.[5]

20th century

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Lithuania restored its statehood in 1918 as a Republic of Lithuania. China diplomatically recognized Lithuania on 14 November 1921.[6] The relations lasted until the World War II. Neither the PRC nor the ROC recognized the illegal occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union.

Modern diplomatic relations between Lithuania and the People's Republic of China (PRC) were officially established on 14 September 1991. In 1992, the PRC's embassy was established in Vilnius, and in 1995, the Lithuanian embassy was established in Beijing.

21st century

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In August 2021, the ROC opened its representative office in Vilnius under the name of "Taiwanese" (the first under this name in Europe), with the Lithuanian office in Taipei to open by the end of 2021. In the opinion of the Chinese government, Lithuania has thus reneged on its 1991 agreement with PRC on the establishment of diplomatic relations where Lithuania recognized the One China principle; Lithuanian government does not consider being in breach of the agreement.[7] In response, the PRC recalled its ambassador in Vilnius, Shen Zhifei, and demanded that Lithuania recall its ambassador in Beijing, Diana Mickevičienė.[8] Trade between the two countries was also seriously disrupted.[9] Relations between the PRC and Lithuania were downgraded to the level of chargé d'affaires on 21 November 2021.[10][11] This is the second diplomatic relations downgrading measure China since the Netherlands in 1981.[note 1][12]

On 3 December 2021, Lithuania reported that in an escalation of the diplomatic spat over relations with Taiwan, China had stopped all imports from the Baltic state. It said Beijing has delisted Lithuania as a country of origin, preventing items from clearing customs, and was rejecting all import applications.[13] As a result of the conflict, China pressured Continental AG and other international companies to stop doing business with Lithuania.[14] The spat spilled over to the rest of the European Union when China banned the import of goods which contained Lithuanian parts potentially disrupting integrated supply chains in the European single market. EU Ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis supported Lithuania and attempted to intervene on their behalf. The president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China described the Chinese government's move as "unprecedented."[15] In early 2022, reports emerged that German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce warned Lithuania that German-owned factories will be closed if relations with China are not improved.[16][17]

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said in a radio interview in January 2022 that he thought it was a mistake to allow Taiwan to open a representative office using the name 'Taiwan' in Vilnius.[18] These remarks were subsequently widely published across mainland Chinese media that reported Lithuania had admitted its mistake. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said "Recognizing the mistake is a correct step, but what is more important is to take action, correct the 'One China, One Taiwan' mistaken act, and return to the principle of One China." However, political analysts quoted on the BBC claimed that Nauseda was not suggesting to make any significant change to Lithuanian policy regarding the opening of the office and improving relations with Taiwan, only that he thought it had caused an avoidable diplomatic crisis by using the name "Taiwan" rather than "Taipei" or something else as the name for the office in Vilnius.[19]

An independent 2022 poll commissioned by the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed that the Lithuanian population overwhelmingly opposes the government's policies towards China.[20] Only 13% of Lithuanians view the policies positively. Following the poll results, opposition parties have called on the government to respect popular opinion and repair ties with Beijing.[20][21] Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis claimed that the survey question was not worded accurately enough, stating: "Lithuania has de facto never changed its policy on China. China has decided to apply unannounced, most likely illegal measures against Lithuania and the European Union. [...] I would probably ask whether Lithuania should support, agree with the aspiration of Taiwan's people to be called Taiwanese, instead of asking about Lithuania's policy on China."[20] China's acting chargé d'affairs in Lithuania, Qu Baihua, responded by saying that unsanctioned visits by Lithuanian government officials that include agreements with sovereignty implications violate the One China policy that Lithuania agreed to.[22]

In November 2023, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that China and Lithuania were in talks about the normalization of relations and the return of ambassadors.[23]

Following the defeat of the previously dominant Homeland Union in the 2024 Lithuanian parliamentary election, the new presumptive Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas of the victorious Social Democratic Party vowed to re-establish full diplomatic relations with China. Paluckas described the previous government's decision to open the Taiwanese representative office as a "grave diplomatic mistake", but declined to comment on whether he would force Taiwan to rename it.[24]

Human rights criticisms

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In June 2020, Lithuania openly opposed the Hong Kong national security law in a statement given at the United Nations Human Rights Council.[25] Later, in May 2021, the Seimas passed a resolution that recognized the China's persecution of Uyghurs as genocide and called for the PRC's government to revoke the Hong Kong national security law.[26]

In March 2021, the PRC blacklisted Lithuanian MP Dovilė Šakalienė because of her comments regarding the state of human rights in mainland China.[27]

On 19 November 2021, group of members of Lithuanian national parliament (Seimas) released an official letter encouraging Lithuania to withdraw from the 2022 Winter Olympics due to human rights violations in China.[28] Daina Gudzinevičiūtė, president of National Olympic Committee of Lithuania, released a statement stating that the Olympic games should be politically neutral and confirmed that committee has no plans to boycott the games.[29]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ China downgraded diplomatic relations to the chargé d'affaires level with the Dutch government after the Netherlands approved the sale of a submarine to Taiwan on 5 May 1981 until resumed diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level on 1 February 1984.

References

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  1. ^ "Lithuania closes embassy in China after last diplomats leave amid Taiwan spat". NPR. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023.
  2. ^ Vyšniauskas, Marius (13 May 2014). "Naujienos iš Kinijos lietuviškoje tarpukario spaudoje". kamane.lt (in Lithuanian). Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  3. ^ Konior, Jan (2009). "Andrzej Rudomina—unforgettable Lithuanian Jesuit missionary scholar: from Vilnius University to China". Acta Orientalia Vilnensia. 10 (1–2): 125–136. doi:10.15388/AOV.2009.3667. ISSN 1648-2662. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  4. ^ Szczesniak, Boleslaw B. (January 1969). "Diplomatic Relations between Emperor K'ang hsi and King John III of Poland". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 89 (1): 157–161. doi:10.2307/598287. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 598287.
  5. ^ "Lietuviai Kinijoje" (in Lithuanian). 10 August 2014. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  6. ^ https://www.urm.lt/en/news/928/lithuania-and-china-discuss-perspectives-of-bilateral-cooperation:28739
  7. ^ "Po Kinijos priekaištų Lietuvai – Šimonytės atsakas: mes laikomės sutarties". Delfi.lt. 25 November 2021. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  8. ^ "China recalls envoy to Lithuania over Taiwan's move to open de facto embassy". South China Morning Post. 10 August 2021. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  9. ^ Higgins, Andrew (30 September 2021). "Lithuania vs. China: A Baltic Minnow Defies a Rising Superpower". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  10. ^ Shirouzu, Norihiko; Sytas, Andrius (21 November 2021). "China downgrades diplomatic ties with Lithuania over Taiwan". Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  11. ^ "China downgrades diplomatic ties with Lithuania over Taiwan de facto embassy". India Today. 21 November 2021. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  12. ^ Boruta, Raigirdas (16 December 2021). "The Sino-Lithuanian Diplomatic Standoff Escalates". chinaobservers. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  13. ^ Bounds, Andy (3 December 2021). "Lithuania complains of trade 'sanctions' by China after Taiwan dispute". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  14. ^ Sytas, Andrius; O'Donnell, John (17 December 2021). "China pressures Germany's Continental to cut out Lithuania - sources". reuters.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  15. ^ Lau, Stuart; Moens, Barbara (16 December 2021). "China's trade attack on Lithuania exposes EU's powerlessness". politico.eu. Politico. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  16. ^ "German Chamber of Commerce warns Lithuania that German-owned factories will be closed if relations with China are not improved". politico.eu. ycnews.com. 23 December 2021. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  17. ^ "German firms pressure Lithuania to deescalate China tensions – media". www.lrt.lt/. LRT.lt. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Lithuanian president takes aim at 'mistake' in Taiwan office row". www.scmp.com. 4 January 2022. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  19. ^ "以台湾之名设立代表处是"错误" 立陶宛总统为何话锋突变". BBC News 中文 (in Simplified Chinese). 6 January 2022. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  20. ^ a b c "Most Lithuanians critical of Vilnius' China policy – survey". LRT. 12 January 2022. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  21. ^ Bermingham, Finbarr (13 January 2022). "Lithuanians overwhelmingly oppose Vilnius' policy on China, poll shows". SCMP. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Beijing criticizes Lithuanian officials for visiting Taiwan". Delfi & Baltic News Service. 10 August 2022. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  23. ^ Stankevičius, Augustas (10 November 2023). "Vilnius and Beijing are in talks on normalising relations – Lithuanian FM". Lithuanian National Radio and Television. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  24. ^ Jakučionis, Saulius (31 October 2024). "Lithuania's presumptive PM vows to restore ties with China". lrt.lt.
  25. ^ Lawler, Dave (2 July 2020). "The 53 countries supporting China's crackdown on Hong Kong". Axios. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  26. ^ Zachary, Basu (20 May 2021). "Lithuanian parliament becomes latest to recognize Uyghur genocide". Axios. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  27. ^ Everington, Keoni (21 July 2021). "Lithuanian MP backs Taiwan de facto embassy, calls China 'bloody authoritarian regime'". www.taiwannews.com.tw. Taiwan News. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Grupė Lietuvos parlamentarų ragina boikotuoti Pekino žiemos olimpines žaidynes". The Wall Street Journal. Eastern Edition (in Lithuanian). 19 November 2021. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  29. ^ "Po Seimo narių prašymo boikotuoti Pekino olimpinės žaidynes – griežtas LTOK atsakas". The Wall Street Journal. Eastern Edition (in Lithuanian). 23 November 2021. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
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