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Lithuania

Lithuania’s new government wants to make up with China. But is it possible?

The Social Democrats, who came first in last month’s election, have said they want to ‘normalise’ ties with Beijing after a row over Taiwan.

17 Nov 2024 - 3:00PMvideocam

Centre-left tipped to take power as Lithuanians vote

27 Oct 2024 - 7:25PM

US, EU raise alarm over China’s ‘very substantial’ help to Russia in Ukraine war

12 Sep 2024 - 11:00PMvideocam

China’s economic coercion evokes scrutiny, resentment: US officials

Washington’s global network of allies said to offer moral support, supply-chain diversion strategies and new markets when Beijing takes aim.

7 Sep 2024 - 5:30AMvideocam

Nicholas Burns, US ambassador to China, has warned against a world that heavily depends on China for trade and technologies. Photo: AP

EU firms resist plan to screen private investment into China

The investments strengthen the German economy, secure jobs and promote prosperity, German industry group says in submission.

29 Jul 2024 - 4:44PMvideocam

Lithuanian president re-elected in vote marked by Russia fears

Gitanas Nauseda elected to a second, five-year term as rival Ingrida Simonyte concedes defeat. Russia’s war in Ukraine dominated the presidential campaign in the Nato member nation of 2.8 million.

27 May 2024 - 11:58AMvideocam

Russia sentences Pussy Riot activist to 6 years in absentia for Ukraine war fakes

Lyusya Shtein found guilty of spreading ‘war fakes’ over 2022 post on X that accused Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine of bombing foreign cities, Russian media reported.

28 Mar 2024 - 5:27AM

Masked members of Russian feminist group Pussy Riot protest inside the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow in 2012. On Wednesday, Russia sentenced band member Lyusya Shtein to six years in prison in absentia for anti-war social media posts. Photo: AP

EU suspends WTO dispute with China over alleged economic coercion of Lithuania

Note circulated to intergovernmental body’s members on Friday said bloc wanted to “immediately suspend its proceedings” with Beijing.

27 Jan 2024 - 6:59AMvideocam

EU firms are reluctant to speak up on China as Brussels tries to de-risk

Fear of threats, raids and other retaliatory measures hamper efforts to find evidence to support Ursula von der Leyen’s economic security strategy.

13 Dec 2023 - 4:51PMvideocam

Opinion | China and the EU have moved towards a deeper mutual understanding

The recent EU-China summit in Beijing is part of efforts to keep the bilateral relationship from degrading further into conflict and discord. Brussels must adjust its approach to China and focus on addressing actual harms rather than perceived ones that damage its image and legal standing.

12 Dec 2023 - 8:48AMvideocam

EU-China summit: thorny issues to dominate as tense ties reflect ‘sober realism’

Deeply against Beijing’s stances on Ukraine, trade and human rights, Brussels to seek ‘more on the political front’ before agreeing deals, source says.

7 Dec 2023 - 12:00AMvideocam

Leaders of China and the EU, including European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, will meet in Beijing on Thursday for their first in-person summit since 2019. Photo: European Commission/dpa

China has eased ‘economic pressure’ on Lithuania, says Baltic FM

Diplomat’s revelation suggests halting of feud with Beijing over Vilnius permitting opening of controversially named Taiwanese office in its capital.

29 Nov 2023 - 2:29AM

US ‘happy to help’ countries fearing China’s economic coercion

Biden administration signals it is ‘more than happy’ to share what it knows about ‘Beijing’s playbook’ with partners if and when they are threatened.

7 Nov 2023 - 6:26AMvideocam

Tokyo’s claims around ‘Japanese Schindler’ who saved Jews in WWII questioned

Lithuania-based diplomat Chiune Sugihara is seen as a Japanese hero for saving thousands of Jews during WWII but academics said Tokyo has exaggerated his role.

19 Aug 2023 - 4:00PM

A monument for Chiune Sugihara at Sakura Park in Vilnius, Lithuania. Photo: Shutterstock

Italy to face double punishment as it ends belt and road journey with China

For China, losing the belt and road’s richest Western member and a key node on the original Silk Road will be a symbolic blow.

5 Aug 2023 - 11:00PMvideocam

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to visit China in autumn, following a trip to the US to meet President Joe Biden last week. Photo: EPA-EFE

China decries Nato’s ‘eastward march’ as Indo-Pacific leaders gather at summit

Tokyo and Nato agree to partner on security and cyber defence, while Japanese officials say they still have hopes for vetoed liaison office as leaders from Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea attend second day of annual meeting.

13 Jul 2023 - 6:00AMvideocam

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Nato slams China for Russia ties and Taiwan threats in sternest rebuke to date

Joint statement by alliance’s 31 members accuses Beijing of opaquely building up its military power and undercutting rules-based international order.

12 Jul 2023 - 10:05PMvideocam

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South Korea’s Yoon greeted with ‘American Pie’ rendition in Vilnius

Republican Senator Pete Ricketts came up to Yoon and his wife in the old town of Vilnius and shared his appreciation of Yoon’s speech to the US Congress on a state visit in April.

11 Jul 2023 - 5:46PMvideocam

US Senator Pete Ricketts spotted Yoon and his wife Kim Keon-hee while they were taking a stroll through the old town of Vilnius after arriving in the Baltic state to attend the Nato summit. Photo: YNA/dpa

Opinion | West’s fight against China’s ‘economic coercion’ is misguided and misleading

China has been a victim of Western sanctions for decades. The G7’s plan to take trade disputes into its own hands only weakens the WTO and suggests selfish geopolitical aims.

2 Jun 2023 - 2:20AMvideocam

Opinion | How seriously does the world really take China?

From Canada to Italy, Switzerland to Lithuania, countries are standing up to China or de-risking, some making moves they would never try with the US. If the world does not take China seriously, the risk is that Beijing could act radically.

1 Jun 2023 - 8:15AMvideocam

Lithuanian FM calls to repel China’s economic coercion with global response

Recalling his small nation’s diplomatic spat with China over a Taiwan office, Gabrielius Landsbergis says Beijing pressure tactics are likely to carry on.

13 May 2023 - 2:17AMvideocam

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis says his country has “a story to tell” about being victimised by major powers. Photo: EPA-EFE

Lithuania says China peace plan will result in loss of Ukraine sovereignty

Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis rejected Beijing’s mediation bid, saying ‘you cannot have full sovereignty of a country, and loss of territory’.

6 Apr 2023 - 2:03PMvideocam

France has said that China can play a ‘major role’ in the Ukraine war. Photo: Bloomberg

China likely on Nato agenda over ‘limitless’ Russia tie-up: Lithuania

Baltic country’s Asia-Pacific allies may again attend transatlantic security alliance’s annual meeting, slated this year for Vilnius.

8 Mar 2023 - 7:35AM

Amid cooling ties with Beijing, EU delegations land in Taiwan

Germany and Lithuania send parliamentary groups to the island to meet President Tsai Ing-wen and senior officials.

9 Jan 2023 - 9:13PMvideocam

China blocks EU bid to form WTO panels on Lithuania and hi-tech patents

The two cases centre on claims that Lithuanian firms are being punished for the country’s ties with Taiwan and intellectual property protections.

20 Dec 2022 - 9:30PMvideocam

The EU wants WTO panels to hear two cases over alleged Chinese breaches of global trade rules. Photo: AFP

China fills year-old EU envoy void by naming new ambassador

Fu Cong replaces Zhang Ming who left Brussels last year to head the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

11 Dec 2022 - 8:00PMvideocam

China and the EU are at odds over Lithuania and hi-tech licences. Photo: Shutterstock

Taiwan’s ‘tech diplomacy’ on display in Baltic visit amid China tensions

A six-person delegation from Taiwan is visiting Latvia and Lithuania this week as part of the island’s effort to expand its international influence in terms of technology.

3 Nov 2022 - 4:07PMvideocam

Lithuania’s office in Taipei begins operations, Taiwan confirms

The island’s foreign ministry says the Lithuanian envoy has arrived and started work, which is likely to further strain ties between Beijing and the Baltic state.

13 Sep 2022 - 8:49PMvideocam

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Lithuania

Lithuania is located in the Baltic region of Europe between Latvia and Poland, and also borders Belarus and Russia. In 1990 it became the first Soviet-occupied state to announce the restitution of independence and in 1991 its citizens fended off an attempt by the Soviet Union to forment a coup. In 2001 the country joined the WTO and in 2004 it gained membership of both Nato and the European Union, adopting the Schengen Agreement in 2007 and the euro currency in 2015. In 2021 the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was opened in the country's captial of Vilnius, acting as a de facto embassy for the island, and causing an uproar in Beijing.

Capital

Vilnius

Head of State

President Gitanas Nausėda

Head of Government

Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė

last updated:

25 September, 2024