China has stopped beef and other food product imports from Lithuania, amid growing tensions between Vilnius and Beijing over Taiwan ties.
China's General Administration of Customs has told Reuters that Lithuanian beef imports were suspended on Wednesday, without giving a reason for the move.
According to the news agency, meat imports are usually suspended due to disease outbreaks, although Lithuania has not reported any to the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Later, the General Administration of Customs officially notified Lithuania that its beef, dairy products and beer would not be allowed into China.
“Yesterday [Wednesday], we received a note on the suspension of exports from Lithuania to China,” Rosvaldas Gorbačiovas, spokesman for the Lithuania's State Food and Veterinary Service, told BNS on Thursday.
Mantas Staškevičius, head of the service, says it is the first time such a note came from Beijing, even though it has been blocking Lithuanian products for several months now. In his words, China cited a lack of documentation as the reason for suspending imports from Lithuania.
“It's very strange as we have provided and continue to provide all information they ask, just the way we work with non-EU countries. We have not received any note on any lack of documents or information from this country before,” he told BNS.
“Representatives of China's institutions carried out a remote audit on both beef and fish products in Lithuania in 2020. We were assessed fairly well, and all information was provided,” he added.
China's customs systems have in fact been rejecting Lithuanian goods since December, but Beijing has not officially notified Lithuania so far.
Lithuania has accused China of imposing undeclared trade sanctions in retaliation for Vilnius opening a Taiwanese representative office.
The EU is bringing a case against China at the World Trade Organization over Beijing's alleged trade curbs on Lithuania.
According to the European Commission, Lithuanian exports to China fell 91 percent last December, year-on-year.
There have also been reports of Chinese authorities pressuring European internationals to drop their Lithuanian suppliers if they want to continue doing business in China.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry condemned the latest Chinese move, which it called “unilateral” and “bullying”, according to Reuters.
“We firmly stand together with Lithuania,” ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou told reporters.
China has repeatedly objected to the name of Taiwan's new de-facto embassy in Vilnius, which uses the island's name instead of the more common designation “Taipei”. According to Beijing, this implies that the island is a sovereign country and violates the One China policy.
China is the world's largest beef importer but imports from Lithuania are minimal. China imported 2.36 million tons of beef last year, including 775 tons from Lithuania, based on China's customs figures.
Read more: Lithuanian goods obliterated from Chinese market – media
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