Lithuania seeks discreet diplomacy to mend China ties, official says

Lithuania is pursuing a delicate diplomatic path to mend ties with China, with officials stressing that public pronouncements hinder progress. "Diplomacy is discreet," Kęstutis Budrys, a Lithuanian official, told reporters, explaining that public conversations about improving relations make it harder to achieve discreet outcomes.

Budrys stated that the government's program clearly aims to restore diplomatic cooperation with China. He emphasized that the process requires discretion because planning depends on both sides. "We understand we have relations that are significantly complicated, poisoned," he said, refusing to comment on specific steps or stages. He reiterated that public discussion on the topic only makes matters more difficult and time-consuming.

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We understand we have relations that are significantly complicated, poisoned.

The comments come after Rimas Motuzas, chairman of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, suggested that Vilnius had made a concession to Beijing by agreeing to the establishment of a de facto Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania. Motuzas stated that Lithuania had previously refused China's offer to establish a representative office, but now agrees to set up a "temporary chargé d'affaires office."

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The more public discussions we have about it, the harder it is to achieve anything discreetly.

Relations between Lithuania and China deteriorated sharply in late 2021 when Lithuania opened a Taiwanese representative office. Beijing considers Taiwan a Chinese province and does not recognize its right to establish representative offices in countries with official ties to China. In response, China imposed strict diplomatic and economic sanctions on Lithuania. The European Commission filed a complaint against China at the World Trade Organization, alleging discriminatory trade practices against Lithuania, which had reduced Lithuanian exports by 80% that year. However, the EU withdrew its complaint in December.

Amidst the tension, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially downgraded diplomatic relations with Lithuania. Recently, discussions about Lithuania's foreign policy decisions regarding China have resurfaced. Some Social Democrats have called for warming relations, and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has hinted at potentially renaming the Taiwanese representative office to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. President Gitanas Nausėda has indicated that Lithuania sees an opportunity to restore diplomatic relations with China at the level of temporary envoys, provided Beijing is also willing.

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We know that the Chinese embassy left Lithuania because they offered to establish a temporary chargé d'affaires office, but we refused. (...) Now Lithuania has offered that at the current stage it agrees to establish that temporary chargé d'affaires office.