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Lithuania urges European Union to cut reliance on China
- Lithuanian foreign minister says bloc needs to act together to be on an equal footing with Beijing
- Vilnius recalls envoy from Chinese capital amid row over Taiwan
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Lithuania’s foreign minister has called on European nations to cut their reliance on China as tensions simmer between Vilnius and Beijing over Taiwan.
In a discussion on Friday on the European Union’s relations with China, Gabrielius Landsbergis said there was a need for a strategic reassessment of the EU’s ties with its second-biggest trading partner.
“Individual member states’ agendas towards China do not strengthen the European Union’s agenda. If we act on our own and drop the EU27 format, we will lose on so many fronts,” the Lithuanian foreign ministry quoted Landsbergis as saying.
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He said the 27+1 format – involving the 27 members of the EU together – was the only possibility for a dialogue on an equal footing with Beijing, and the EU must strengthen its economic resilience and reduce dependence on Chinese trade.
Landsbergis said the EU must also work with like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, and intensify cooperation with Nato on China policy issues.
After the meeting, Josep Borrell, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said the bloc’s relations with China were “experiencing complicated times, notably due to the issues of Hong Kong and Xinjiang”.
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