Lithuanian parlt speaker hopes for Beijing's 1st step in restoring diplomatic ties

  • 2025-01-30
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Saulius Skvernelis hopes that Beijing will take the first step in restoring bilateral diplomatic relations.

"We should do as the whole European community does. We should have the same level of diplomatic representation as Poland, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia have," he told reporters on Thursday.

"If China has such goodwill, it will take that step first," Skvernelis added.

The Taiwanese representation in Vilnius is one of the "irritants or stumbling blocks" to this goal, he said.

"But these issues should be resolved, and I think they should be resolved diplomatically and not by means of public speeches or public discussions," the Seimas speaker added.

He made the remarks after Fang Mei, counselor of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, talked last week on prospects for relations between Vilnius and Beijing.

"The door to dialogue is always open, and China is ready to strengthen communication and exchanges with Lithuania on the basis of respect and common approach and to seek ways to overcome the current situation while respecting the ‘one China’ principle," the counselor said.

The new Lithuanian government has announced its intention to re-establish diplomatic representation with Beijing, but stressed that it would not make political concessions.

Lithuania's relations with China soured in 2021 after the opening of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius. In response, Beijing downgraded diplomatic ties with Vilnius and, according to Lithuanian officials, imposed trade restrictions.