China has so far shown little interest in returning to full diplomatic representation in its relations with Lithuania, a senior adviser to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has said.
“The new Lithuanian government has said it would like to bring back diplomatic representation, which is quite normal, but again, this is a question of the attitude of the two countries,” Asta Skaisgirytė told the Žinių Radijas radio on Tuesday.
“China must want the same. So far, China has not shown much interest here and until it does, the status quo will probably remain,” she added.
China downgraded its diplomatic representation with Lithuania in 2021 and introduced trade restrictions after the opening of the Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius.
Currently, the Chinese mission in Vilnius and the Lithuanian mission in Beijing are headed by chargé d’affaires, not ambassadors.
The European Commission has opened a case at the World Trade Organization over China’s trade restrictions on Lithuania, but the dispute is stalled and, according to Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, could end with no result.
In January, Beijing hinted it was open to normalising relations with Lithuania.
“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,” said Fang Mei, counsellor of the Chinese Mission to the European Union.
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