LRT English Newsletter – June 26, 2026.
Beijing signalled on Monday it was open for dialogue, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun calling on Lithuania to take “swift and decisive action to correct past mistakes”.
For context: a senior social democrat MP, Remigijus Motuzas, said last week Vilnius “bowed” to Beijing by allowing it to establish a chargé d’affairs office, in effect confirming the downgraded status of the diplomatic relations. The news was quickly downplayed by the foreign minister, Kęstutis Budrys, who said this work had to be done quietly.
Although the Chinese Foreign Ministry didn’t name the past mistakes, it was all too clear – the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, Global Times, said that Vilnius had to rename the Taiwanese Representative Office. Although some Lithuanian officials previously ruled out doing that, the outgoing prime minister said it could be done.
On the heels of this exchange, Lithuania announced it was pausing economic cooperation talks with Taiwan, saying it was to allow the new government to assume its duties. The timing is more than suspicious, of course.
