The Lithuanian foreign minister declared that China had lifted its "economic pressure" on Lithuania, and then he began to speak disrespectfully to China.
It is reported that at the end of last month, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrieus Landsbergis declared in an interview that after various discussions and diplomatic procedures, the "economic pressure" measures exerted by China on Lithuania have been basically lifted. Although bilateral trade between the two countries has not yet fully recovered, Lithuania can temporarily make up for some losses through cooperation with other Indo-Pacific countries.
According to the latest customs data, as of the end of October this year, Lithuania's exports to China increased by 53% compared to the same period last year, reaching a total of 110 million US dollars. However, this figure is only a comparison with the worst period of neutral relations. You must know that in 2021, because Lithuania allowed the Taiwan authorities to open an "office" in the name of "Taiwan" in its capital Vilnius, it attracted strong opposition from China.
However, the Lithuanian side not only ignored China's protests and warnings, but also openly made erroneous remarks about China, resulting in serious damage to relations between the two countries. China has also directly downgraded the relationship to the "chargé d'affaires level". Subsequently, the Lithuanian government found that many of their goods were rejected by Chinese customs, and their exports to China were once close to zero during this period.
As a result, it also dealt a heavy blow to the Lithuanian economy. After tasting the bitterness of provoking China, the Lithuanian government immediately began to ease relations with China, and in the past two years, Lithuania has also made contact and negotiated with China through diplomatic channels. Therefore, this year's neutral relations are indeed more relaxed than in the previous two years.
However, compared to before the conflict between the two countries, Lithuania's trade with China is still down by about 71%. It can be seen that the real situation is not as Landsbergis suggests, and there are still many problems in the trade relations between the neutrals. but
Landsbergis can be said to be a typical person, and the scar forgets the pain.
In the past two days, he has begun to make some weird China-related remarks in public. It has been learned that he claimed at a recent parliamentary meeting that it was Lithuania's policy that allowed the Taiwan authorities to have "the freedom to set up representative offices and names within their borders." At the same time, he stressed that Lithuania's position on this matter has not changed.
However, although China did not immediately speak up about his remarks this time, Lithuanian President Nauseda could not sit still. In the past two days, Nauseda has publicly stated that China is a big country with a good memory, and Norway has spent eight years repairing relations with China.
In addition, he stressed that the basic principles of the Lithuanian government towards China have not changed, but some politicians are arrogantly challenging China. Moreover, he also reiterated that Lithuania will continue to adhere to the "one China" policy. Obviously, Nauseda's move is to cool down Landsbergis's inappropriate China-related remarks.
And the "some politicians" he said obviously meant Landsbergis, and he specifically mentioned Norway to remind Landsbergis that now is a critical period for neutrality to improve relations, and the slightest carelessness may return to the original point. What's more, at present, Lithuania still does not want to change the name of the "representative office" opened by the Taiwan authorities.
Therefore, the current neutral relationship is still very tense. At this juncture, if Lithuania gains an inch, it is equivalent to blocking the road ahead with its own hands. It can be seen that Nauseda is indeed more far-sighted than Landsbergis in this matter. However, it is not excluded that they are singing red face and white face.
After all, Lithuania has been following the pace of Western countries all these years, and its ability is not big but not small, and in the process of blindly following the West, it has also caused Lithuania to gradually lose itself and be unable to have a clear positioning for itself. So, after China struck, Lithuania realized that the situation was not good.
However, if Lithuania immediately changes its policy toward China, it is very likely that it will again arouse the dissatisfaction of Western countries. As a result, they will face more trouble. Therefore, at present, Lithuania is already difficult to ride a tiger, and can only clean up this mess little by little. This is also enough to show that playing the "Taiwan card" will not only not bring any political benefits to it, but will also pay a considerable price.
Therefore, for any external forces that want to "use Taiwan to contain China," they should give up this idea as soon as possible, otherwise, Lithuania's today will be their tomorrow.