After previously considering dropping an international trade investigation against China over alleged coercive activity targeting Lithuania, the European Commission has decided to ask the World Trade Organization to continue the case.
This was confirmed by the EC to LRT on Friday, one day before the deadline for the decision.
The WTO case was opened in 2022 after China imposed restrictions on imports from Lithuania following the opening of the Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius.
In January 2024, it was reported that the EC had decided to temporarily suspend the proceedings, calling it “a procedural step taken for technical reasons related to the need to assess certain elements”.
Suspension means that the case is not formally closed, but that the proceedings are not ongoing. The proceedings may be suspended for a maximum of one year, after which the case is closed altogether if not renewed.
The EC had until Saturday, January 25, to decide whether to renew the proceedings against China.
A week ago, Bloomberg reported that the Commission was considering closing the case.
At that time, Lithuanian Prime Minister Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas suggested that the EC may have lacked evidence to prove China’s restrictions on Lithuanian imports.
“It’s up to the Commission to decide, but the problem is probably that there’s a lack of evidence of active actions by the Chinese government in this case,” he said.
On Friday, before the EC announced its decision, Beijing issued a press release calling for talks and a solution to the problem.
“The door to dialogue is always open, and China is ready to strengthen communication and exchanges with Lithuania on the basis of respect and common approach and to seek ways to overcome the current situation while respecting the ‘one China’ principle,” Fang Mei, counsellor of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, was quoted in a commentary circulated to the media.
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