Lithuanian president sees lack of signals from Beijing on mending ties with Vilnius

VILNIUS - With the new government declaring in its program its intention to normalize diplomatic representation between Lithuania and China, President Gitanas Nauseda says he sees a lack of signals from Beijing on mending ties.

"I see no problem in improving those relations with China..., but you know, it's like in a family, there has to be a mutual wish... At the moment, we are seeing a lack of signals from China that they are truly sincere in their willingness to improve relations," the country's leader told reporters on Tuesday as the new government softened its rhetoric toward Beijing.

Lithuania’s previous government led by Gintautas Paluckas stated in its program that China "is becoming an increasing challenge to our foreign and security policy", and that "China's strategic partnership with Russia and its growing influence in Belarus" should also be considered a threat.

Meanwhile, a draft program of the new government led by Inga Ruginiene, which was registered on Tuesday, refrains from making such statements, merely asserting that it will seek to "restore diplomatic relations with China to the same diplomatic level as in other European Union countries".

However, Deividas Matulionis, the presidential adviser on national security issues, said earlier on Tuesday that the change in rhetoric towards China does not mean that Lithuania is stepping back from its previous positions.

Ruginiene earlier told BNS she would urge China to respond to the proposal made by the previous government to restore diplomatic relations.

For the past few years, Vilnius and Beijing have been at odds over how to restore their diplomatic representation.

In June, then-Prime Minister Paluckas said that a proposal on restoration of relations had been sent to China.

He did not elaborate on the proposal but insisted that it was not related to changing the name of the Taiwanese mission in Vilnius.

Ruginiene also said that there are no intentions to make any changes related to Taiwan’s representative office.

In the fall of 2021, Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a Taiwanese mission in Vilnius, angering Beijing, which saw this as Lithuanian support for Taiwan's attempts to act as an independent state. In other countries, such representative offices operate under the name of Taipei.

There have been no accredited Chinese diplomats or other staff members in Lithuania since mid-May.