EC must take more responsibility for protecting members from China - Lithuanian FM

VILNIUS - The European Commission must take more responsibility for protecting Community members from China's "unfair practices", Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys says.

"No member state, no EU member state has to be in the face of China alone. The European Commission has to take more responsibilities in protecting each member state when they are faced with the very unfair practices," he told reporters in Brussels on Monday.

Lithuania's closer relations with Taiwan and the opening of a Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius in 2021 led to a deterioration in relations between Vilnius and Beijing.

In early 2022, the European Commission initiated a case against Beijing at the World Trade Organization over possible Chinese trade restrictions against Lithuania, but the dispute is now stalled.

Meanwhile, EC chief Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the European Union would seek to re-balance economic relations with China by demanding that it facilitate market access for European companies and relax controls on rare earth exports.

"We have to be very open-eyed and take what it is with the real perspective. And that is the threats coming from China, when it comes to our economic relations and trade. China's trade policies and industrial policies are oriented at dominating in the world technologically. And also with this comes the authoritarian domination. It’s a challenge the European Union and we have to address," Lithuania's top diplomat said.