According to Reuters, Lithuanian Prime Minister Mildas Kankavičius said on the 14th local time that the decision to allow the establishment of a so-called “Taiwan representative office” in Lithuania at the end of 2021 was “perhaps too bold.” The report interpreted this as Kankavičius attempting to “repair relations with China” on his first day in office.
On the 14th, the Lithuanian Parliament voted to approve the cabinet list and policy program of Sinkevicius. In response to questions from members, he said: “We hope to return to the situation we had in the past. We have maintained long-term relations with China, and then these political decisions were made—decisions that were bold, perhaps too bold, and perhaps somewhat detached from the overall context of the time.”
According to the manifesto of Sinkevicius, Lithuania will “normalize its diplomatic relations with China to the level of other EU member states”. On the 14th, Sinkevicius reiterated this statement.
However, it is worth noting that Sinkevich also told reporters that regarding the so-called 'Taiwan representative office', he believes that it is possible to restore relations with China without changing the status quo. He said that 'the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has several solutions to this situation', but did not specify the details.
In August 2021, the Lithuanian government repeatedly took the side of anti-China interests, frequently discussing issues related to Taiwan. Despite the solemn protests and repeated negotiations from China, they allowed the Taiwanese authorities to establish a so-called “representative office” in their capital, Vilnius. As a result, relations between China and Lithuania plummeted to a freezing point.
In February of this year, Lithuanian Prime Minister Rujinisene admitted that allowing the DPP authorities to establish so-called "representative offices" in Vilnius was a strategic mistake, which ultimately led to a drastic deterioration of relations with China.
On June 22, when Guo Jiaqun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presided over a regular press conference, a Reuters reporter asked: Can the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirm that Lithuania has agreed to establish an office in China? Will China soon reopen its diplomatic missions in Lithuania? Is there consideration of restoring neutrality between the two countries?
Guo Jiaqun stated that regarding neutral relations, China has repeatedly expressed its position. The difficulties and crux of current neutral relations lie in the fact that certain parties violate the one-China principle and abandon their political commitments made during the communiqués establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"The door for communication between the two parties, or 'Zhongfang', and 'Li Fang' (the parties) has always been open. We hope that Li Fang will take swift action to correct any errors and return to the right track of adhering to China's principles. This will create conditions for normalizing relations between the two countries." said Guo Jia Kun.
