Last week I wrote an article about the tense relationship between Lithuania and China, and there has been some movement on Chinese side. On Sunday, China downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania, expressing strong dissatisfaction with Vilnius for allowing Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in the Baltic state. The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania opened on Thursday. Other Taiwan offices in Europe and the United States use the name of city Taipei, avoiding a reference to the island itself, something that has further angered Beijing. Chinese Foreign Ministry said that Lithuania ignored China’s “solemn stance” and it cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China no matter what it does. The move undermined China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, creating a bad precedent internationally, it said, adding relations would be downgraded to the level of charge d'affaires, a rung below ambassador.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/21/china/china-lithuania-taiwan-relations-intl-hnk/index.html
Chihiro Yoshihara
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