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Lithuanian exporters still frozen out by Taiwan office row with Beijing
- Chinese first-quarter imports from Lithuania plunged by nearly 77 per cent from a year ago
- EU deciding on ‘next steps’ in WTO lawsuit launched against Beijing over alleged import blocks, trade spokeswoman says
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Finbarr Berminghamin Brussels
Many Lithuanian exporters continued to be frozen out of the Chinese market in the first three months of the year, with the European Union mapping out the next steps in its related WTO lawsuit against Beijing.
Latest Chinese customs records released on Wednesday showed first-quarter imports from Lithuania had plunged 76.6 per cent on year, suggesting that an unofficial embargo remains in place on goods from the tiny EU member state.
Chinese trade has dropped dramatically for Lithuania since it allowed self-ruled Taiwan to open a diplomatic office under its own name last November – worsening already fraught EU-Beijing relations.
Beijing, which sees Taiwan as a breakaway province not entitled to diplomatic representation, claims the naming of the “Taiwanese Representative Office” breaches its one-China principle, a charge denied by Lithuania and the European Union.
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Lithuania’s exports to mainland China suffered a steep drop in December as Beijing reacted with fury to the Baltic nation’s support for Taipei, downgrading diplomatic ties and subsequently banning a range of imports.
Lithuanian exporters complained of a customs block, saying the country’s details had been effectively wiped off the Chinese customs portal, leaving them unable to fulfil export orders.
The EU then launched its own probe and filed a World Trade Organization (WTO) case against Beijing in January, accusing it of economically coercing one of its smallest member states.
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