Lithuania is making progress towards normalising relations with communist China, Juozas Olekas, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, said, BNS reports. Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that Lithuania’s position on China remained unchanged, stressing the need for a unified European approach as part of the EU’s common foreign and security policy. He warned that different approaches among EU countries allowed China to “manipulate countries and reduce the EU’s influence” as a global actor. Budrys assured that Lithuania would not violate its obligations under international law or the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and respect for human rights and freedoms, Lietuvos Rytas reported. China downgraded its diplomatic relations and restricted trade with Lithuania after the opening of a Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius in November 2021.
Meanwhile, Lithuania has resumed negotiations with Taiwan on an action plan for economic cooperation between the two countries, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry announced, BNS and Taiwan News report. The ministry said that Lithuania’s position on Taiwan remained unchanged and that strengthening economic cooperation with Taiwan remained a long-term foreign policy priority. Lithuania seeks to deepen practical cooperation in trade, business, education, science, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, the ministry said. Deividas Matulionis, chief national security adviser to President Gitanas Nauseda, said that Lithuania had two goals: to restore diplomatic ties with China and to develop economic ties with Taiwan, DELFI reported. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Matulionis said that Lithuania would like to see more “practical economic benefit” from cooperation with Taiwan.