Recently, Lithuania has caused quite a stir, and the double-acting drama has reached its extreme. Since Lithuanian President Nauseda admitted his mistake on January 4, voices of dissatisfaction began to appear in his domestic political arena. According to Global Network report, on January 5, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania once again put pressure on the European Union and asked the European Commission to sue China to the World Trade Organization .
It is reported that Lithuania has prepared relevant documents, which are enough to "confirm" China's "pressure" on Lithuanian entrepreneurs, and all the European Commission needs to do is submit these materials to the WTO court. Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs threatened that it may file a lawsuit against China for the so-called "violation of the principles of transparency and non-discriminatory practices." While putting on a "tough" stance, Lithuania still did not forget to "ask for help" from the EU. Lithuania claimed that in order to restore normal trade between Lithuania and China, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Commission, the World Trade Organization and other governments are working together. Actively think of solutions.
The Lithuanian government has repeatedly provoked China, frequently made erroneous remarks related to China, and after repeatedly crossing China's red lines, it also solicited European and American countries to "support" it. All these developments have long aroused strong dissatisfaction and opposition from China. On December 24, 2021, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian responded, saying that certain media and politicians were hyping up China's suspension of Lithuania's import trade license from China, deletion of Lithuania from the customs system, and pressure on multinational companies not to use Lithuania. None of the information about the parts being produced is true. China has always acted in accordance with WTO rules. If there are problems in Lithuania's trade cooperation with China, it must find the reasons within itself.
This is indeed the case. On the one hand, Lithuania is hyping that China is "cutting off its livelihood", and on the other hand, it is doing everything possible to block trade cooperation with China. On January 5, the spokesperson of Lithuanian Prime Minister Shimonit told the media that the Lithuanian government blocked the state-owned enterprise Lithuanian Railways from signing a contract with a Chinese-owned enterprise on the grounds of "national security interests."
According to Reuters report, the above-mentioned Chinese-owned company is a bridge builder in Spain. It has taken over projects all over the world, including projects in the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa and other places. In June 2021, China Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd. acquired two-thirds of the shares of this Spanish company, and the Chinese company with 67% of the shares became the parent company of this Spanish company. In December 2021, the Spanish company achieved the highest score with the lowest bid of 62.51 million euros and won a bridge construction tender in Lithuania. The project is part of the "Rail Baltica project" connecting the three Baltic countries. After
won the bid, some Lithuanian politicians have been obstructing the Spanish bridge builder on the grounds that it is a Chinese-owned enterprise and "endangers national security." So far, the remarks of Shimonit's spokesperson have confirmed that the Lithuanian government's determination to prevent the two companies from signing the contract is "unwavering." For a moment, I didn't know whether it was better to say that Lithuania "got what it wanted" or "destructed itself".
This was less than two days after former Lithuanian President Adamkus severely criticized the current government's Taiwan-related policies, and less than one day after current President Nauseda admitted his mistake. On January 3, the 95-year-old Adamkus publicly pointed out that the current government’s decision to establish the so-called “Taiwan Representative Office” was the root cause of Lithuania’s current economic difficulties. He emphasized that it is very dangerous to take chestnuts from the fire, and the struggle between major powers is not A small country like Lithuania can intervene.
Nauseda did listen to these words. On January 4, after admitting his mistake, he clearly pointed out that the name of the so-called representative office should be "Taipei", not "Taiwan". After learning of the news, the Taiwan authorities also tried to "throw money" to save it. On January 5, Huang Junyao, the head of the Taiwan authorities' representative office in Lithuania, said that the Taiwan authorities planned to invest US$200 million in Lithuania and take over everything that was "mainland" Rejected Lithuanian Goods”.
On the one hand, it is the financial temptation from the Taiwan authorities, and on the other hand, it is the political differences within Lithuania. It is not yet known how the relationship between Lithuania and China will develop in the future, but China can ignore what Lithuania says and only look at what it does. That’s it. Since Lithuania has led the way, it must suffer the consequences.
