China slams Lithuania’s plan to set up a representative trade office in Taiwan
- China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin urges Vilnius to ‘refuse to be taken advantage of by Taiwan separatist forces’
- Lithuania’s foreign ministry this week confirmed that it hoped to have an ‘enterprise office’ established in Taiwan this year
At a press conference in Beijing on Thursday, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin urged Vilnius to “refuse to be taken advantage of by Taiwan separatist forces, and avoid doing anything detrimental to bilateral political mutual trust”.
“We are firmly against the mutual establishment of official agencies and official exchanges in all forms between the Taiwan region and countries having diplomatic relations with China including Lithuania,” Wang said, after authorities in Lithuania confirmed a plan to establish an office by the end of the year.
Lithuania’s foreign ministry this week confirmed that it hoped to have an “enterprise office” established in Taiwan this year.
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Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also intimated that the country was edging closer to leaving the “17+1”, an informal trade group of China and 17 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries founded in 2012.