China appears open to talks on normalising diplomatic relations with Lithuania, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Lithuanian parliament, Remigijus Motuzas of the ruling Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), stated, BNS reports. Speaking after a briefing by Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys, Motuzas said that China was “inclined to meet, communicate, and negotiate” with Lithuania. However, he argued that the diplomatic dispute with communist China could not be resolved without taking into account the issue of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius. Also, he noted that while Taiwan had promised EUR 1.2bn of investments in Lithuania over five years, it had so far only invested about EUR 500mn in that time period. Meanwhile, MEP Aurelijus Veryga, chairman of LSDP’s coalition partner, the Lithuanian Union of Farmers and Greens (LVZS), suggested agreeing to China’s demand that the Taiwanese office be renamed, BNS reported. He said that the name could be changed in one to two months after consultations between Lithuania, China, and Taiwan, and after notifying the United States. Veryga also criticised Taiwan for unfulfilled investment promises.
Lithuania’s incoming LSDP-led coalition government hopes to normalise relations with China within six months, LRT reports. However, Lithuanian foreign policy experts warn that the timeline may prove unrealistic, given that the diplomatic dispute involves the central question of Taiwan. Also, they noted that restoring relations with China after a diplomatic rift often requires making substantial political concessions. Even if full relations are restored, Tomas Janeliunas, professor of international relations at Vilnius University, does not expect China to reward Lithuania. He pointed out that economic ties between the two countries are relatively limited. Meanwhile, Vida Macikenaite-Ambutaviciene, associate professor of international relations at the International University of Japan, expects China to demand that Lithuania issue some form of statement discouraging other countries from allowing Taiwan to open representative offices under the country’s proper name. However, Janeliunas does not believe that Taiwan would agree to rename its only office in Europe that carries the name Taiwanese.