VILNIUS: New Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said on Tuesday the 2021 decision to allow Taiwan to open a de-facto embassy in the country was “maybe too brave” as he sought to repair relations with China on his first day in the job.
China downgraded its diplomatic relations with Lithuania in late 2021 after the European Union and NATO nation of 2.9 million people let Taiwan open a “Taiwanese” representative office on its soil. The move has also hit trade ties.
The manifesto of the government of Sinkevicius, which was voted through on Tuesday, clearing the way for him to become prime minister, includes the goal to “normalize” the relationship back to appointing each others’ ambassadors.
Beijing views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory with no right to set up such offices in countries with which China has formal ties.
Countries such as Australia, Britain and the United States host offices that are usually known as “Taipei” representative offices, which avoids the implication of statehood and sovereignty.
