Lithuanian PM calls proposals to normalize relations with China 'unwise'

VILNIUS – Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has described proposals to normalize Lithuania's relations with China as "unwise".

"I consider them unwise, regardless of the US administration in power," she said in a comment sent to BNS on Wednesday.

Simonyte was commenting on proposals from President Gitanas Nauseda and Gintautas Paluckas, the Social Democratic candidate for prime minister following his party's recent parliamentary election win, to normalize relations with Beijing.

"Mr. Nauseda is well aware, based on the information available to both of us, and Mr. Paluckas would know this too if he had shown more interest in foreign policy, that both Republican and Democratic politicians appreciate Lithuanian institutions' efforts to strengthen ties with democracies in the Indo-Pacific region and the understanding that it is necessary to minimize the risks arising from China's ambitions," she said. 

Republican Donald Trump won the US presidential election on Wednesday, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris. During his 2017-2021 presidency, he launched a fierce trade war with China, imposing high tariffs on Chinese goods for what he said were unfair practices by Beijing.

Tensions did not ease under Democrat Joe Biden either, with relations at their lowest point in decades. Washington also imposed new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, electric vehicle batteries, and solar panels.

"This is an issue on which there is a consensus in US politics, and there are not many such topics left," said Simonyte.

According to the prime minister, Lithuania's efforts during this term to strengthen its resilience and build clean supply chains have also been "highly appreciated and have opened a number of doors".

Simonyte noted that, due to economic pressure on Lithuania, discussions about China's role in the EU economy have intensified significantly at the European Union level.

"We can see at least a partial change where previously there was only praise for intensive trade and the fact that the EU had ceded numerous positions, including strategic ones, to China's imports," the prime minister said. 

"With Donald Trump's victory, there will undoubtedly be much more attention on the EU's stance on this issue," she added.   

Simonyte said the decision to downgrade diplomatic relations was a unilateral action by China, and Lithuania cannot reverse it on its own.

"If the condition for changing Beijing's decision is that we or our like-minded countries change other decisions, I find it hard to imagine how that could be viewed as anything other than humiliation," she said.

The prime minister noted that Lithuania remains one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters in its war against Russia, which, in turn, is backed by China.

"It is therefore deplorable that the potential head of a government that, as claimed, will not be uninterested in foreign policy – because, they say, the president is already handling it and they 'will not hinder him" – should single out this issue from all the geopolitical challenges, threats, and opportunities for Lithuania," she said in the comment. 

Paluckas told BNS in an interview last week that his government would seek to restore full diplomatic relations with China, but would not be willing to make excessive concessions.

The Social Democratic candidate for prime minister said he would work to bring Lithuania's ambassador back to Beijing and to see China's ambassador return to Vilnius. 

President Gitanas Nauseda says that he is also in favor of normalizing relations with China, but emphasizes that both sides must show interest in such a move.

Relations between Lithuania and China turned sour in 2021 after Vilnius allowed Taipei to open its representative office with the word "Taiwanese", rather than "Taipei's", in its name. In response, Beijing downgraded diplomatic ties with Vilnius and imposed trade restrictions.

In Lithuanian and English, the Taipei office in Vilnius is referred to as "Taiwanese", but Chinese version uses the name "Taiwan".