In the economically-political row between Lithuania and China, Beijing has appreciated the conclusion of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda that the use of the «Taiwanese» in the name of the representative office in Vilnius has been a mistake, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reports.
LRT quoted the South China Morning Post as reporting on a statement by the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry: «Recognising a mistake is a step in the right direction, but more importantly, action must be taken,» Wang Wenbin, spokesman of the Chinese foreign ministry, was quoted as saying.
Lithuania’s relations with China soured in 2021 after Vilnius allowed Taipei to open its representation under the name «Taiwan». Beijing, which considers the self-ruled island part of China, has accused Lithuania of violating the so-called One China policy.
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«I think it was not the opening of the Taiwanese office that was a mistake, but the name, which was not coordinated with me,» Nausėda told the Žinių Radijas radio station on Tuesday.
While both Lithuania and Taiwan can open representative offices that do not have diplomatic status, «the name of the office became a key factor that now has a very strong impact on our relations with China […] and we have to deal with the consequences», according to the president.
The article originally appeared on LRT English: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1581826/china-welcomes-lithuanian-president-s-criticism-of-taiwanese-representation-media
China likes Nausėda’s regrets about Taiwanese representation in Vilnius
