Germany has been undermining a common position to help Lithuania withstand China’s pressure, according to EU officials and diplomats quoted by Politico reporters.
“Officials said Scholz’s office feared the EU was becoming too aggressive in its defence of Lithuania against Beijing’s economic coercion,” Politico reported on Wednesday.
This follows China’s de facto economic blockade of Lithuania after it allowed Taiwan to open a trade office under its name in Vilnius. The Baltic country has been calling for joint EU action to counter Beijing’s economic coercion, with the member bloc so far coming short of offering concrete responses.
“The chancellery has been ‘calling everyone who speaks German in the Commission’ to tone down the pressure on China, after France last week said Beijing had gone too far with its attacks on the single market,” one of the officials told Politico.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and views any attempts to recognise the island nation internationally as a breach of the so-called One China policy. Lithuanian officials maintain thet the de facto Taiwanese embassy refers to the Taiwanese people, and not Taiwan, and rejects all accusations.
Read more: Lithuania has not asked Taiwan to rename office, says Taipei
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