Lithuanian president favors normalizing ties with China if there's mutual interest

VILNIUS – President Gitanas Nauseda said on Tuesday that he is in favor of normalizing relations between Lithuania and China, but emphasized that both sides must show interest in such a move.

Gintautas Paluckas, the Social Democratic candidate for prime minister following his party’s recent parliamentary election win, told BNS in an interview last week that his government would seek to restore full diplomatic relations with China, but would not be willing to make excessive concessions.

"The president supports the aspiration to normalize diplomatic relations between Lithuania and China, but there has to be mutual interest in doing so," Nauseda's office told BNS. 

"The president expects China to reverse its decision to downgrade diplomatic representation so that ambassadors can return to their duties in both countries." 

"China-Lithuania relations should be based on the principle of mutual respect and international obligations," it added.

According to the president's office, Lithuania hopes that China, as a member of the United Nations Security Council, will not support Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, but will contribute to ending the war.

"Maintaining diplomatic relations with China does not mean that Lithuania should abandon its trade and economic relations with Taiwan," it said.

Relations between Lithuania and China turned sour in 2021 after Vilnius allowed Taipei to open its representative office with the word "Taiwanese", rather than "Taipei's", in its name. In response, Beijing downgraded diplomatic ties with Vilnius and imposed trade restrictions.

Paluckas told BNS he would work to bring Lithuania's ambassador back to Beijing and to see China's ambassador return to Vilnius.

The Social Democrat said the normalization of relations would be pursued "without groveling, kneeling down, or begging for anything".

He described Lithuania's decision to allow "Taiwanese" in the name of the representative office as a "grave diplomatic mistake", but did not say whether he would agree to ask Taipei to change it if requested by China.

In Lithuanian and English, the Taipei office in Vilnius is referred to as "Taiwanese", but Chinese version uses the name "Taiwan".