Vilnius/Berlin/Beijing – Lithuania has allowed an embassy of Taiwan in their country. This aggravates China’s desire to corner Lithuania by pressurising other countries. Thus, China is reportedly pressuring ‘Continental’, a German multinational company, not to use parts made in Lithuania. The European Union has indicated to take this dispute to the World Trade Organization.
Taiwan‘s diplomatic office in Lithuania was inaugurated last month. As per the sources, it is named as The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania. Moreover, it will serve as the embassy of Taiwan. Despite threats, the opening of the Taiwan embassy has aggravated China which has decided to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Lithuania. Accordingly, the Chinese ambassador to Lithuania has been recalled and the responsibility of the embassy has been handed over to junior political officials.
China is now trying to throttle trade with Lithuania. A few days ago, Lithuania was removed from the list of countries exporting their goods to China, resulting in shipments in transit being stranded at sea. China is yet to take an official stand on the ongoing issue.
Since then, China has attempted to pressurise Lithuania through European countries and companies. Continental, a leading German company, also has factories in Lithuania which manufactures automotive parts. However, according to a leading news agency, China is putting pressure on Continental to stop using Lithuania products. Government sources in Lithuania say they are aware that such efforts are being made against them.
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