Lithuanian diplomats leave China after Beijing downgrades embassy amid Taiwan row

The embassy, which had its status downgraded last month, will operate remotely until agreement is reached over diplomatic accreditation

The dispute has also affected trade relations, with other EU nations complaining that the situation has bled into their supply chains

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The Lithuanian embassy in Beijing has cancelled its Christmas party and will be operated remotely after its staff reportedly left China. Photo: Reuters

Finbarr Berminghamin BrusselsandJun Maiin Beijing

Published: 9:06pm, 15 Dec 2021Updated: 2:30am, 16 Dec 2021

Lithuania’s embassy in China will operate remotely after its staff left the country amid the continuing row over the Baltic state’s relationship with Taiwan.

Beijing downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania last month, after the opening of a Taiwan representative office in Vilnius, which Beijing says breaches the one-China policy. Lithuania and the European Union both say the move is within the framework of Brussels’ one-China policy.

Two senior Lithuanian government sources said Beijing sought to rename the Lithuanian embassy the “office of the charge d’affaires”; the embassy was informed by note verbale – a formal diplomatic message delivered orally – at the end of November.

Since Lithuanian officials did not agree to the renaming, they left the country for fear of losing their diplomatic immunity. Lithuania’s interim chargé d’affaires Audra Čiapienė is to return to Vilnius for consultations, the Lithuanian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The Lithuanian state emblem is seen at its embassy in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Quoting an unnamed source, Reuters reported that all 19 Lithuanian embassy personnel and their dependents had left Beijing and were en route to Paris.