Economic ties between Vilnius and Beijing are now minimal, Economy Minister Lukas Savickas says.
“Right now, our economic ties are, well, quite minimal,” the minister told BNS on Tuesday, asked about the current relationship between Lithuania and China.
In the current geopolitical situation, he said, his ministry needs to listen to business interests and help businesses find necessary markets in South Korea, Japan, Singapore and India where, according to the minister, higher value-added products could go.
“We clearly need to look for markets where our higher value-added products can go,” Savickas said. “We may not always have a clear understanding of other big players’ objectives, but we can control our national economic interests in helping our businesses to diversify and maintain their competitiveness. This is our task and we should look for markets and opportunities accordingly.”
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, government and business representatives plan to travel to Japan and Vietnam in June to help Lithuanian companies find new export markets as President Donald Trump’s policies threaten their access to the US market.
Savickas also reiterated his position that Lithuania is still waiting for decisions from Taiwan in order to develop bilateral cooperation.
“We have expressed this expectation, [...] now I can repeat, the ball is in Taiwan’s court and we expect them to make decisions,” Savickas said.
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