The MPs have established a group “For Normalising Diplomatic Relations with China to the Level of European Union Member States”.
MP Ignas Vėgėlė, chair of the ad hoc group, confirmed about the upcoming visit to Delfi.
“We are still harmonising the meeting. We have been planning it long ago. As this is an ad hoc group, whose name was formed word for word based on the Government programme – that is to restore ties to the EU level – [we would like] to discuss what Lithuania could do and what steps China should take for relationships to become equivalent to those of other EU member states,” says Vėgėlė.
The MP expressed hope that China would send a representative for Lithuania and “high ranking officials” who can adopt decisions.
Apart from Vėgėlė this group also includes Vitalijus Šeršniovas, Tadas Barauskas, Algirdas Butkevičius, Rimas Jonas Jankūnas, Karolis Neimantas and Artūras Zuokas.
As reported, Lithuania’s relations with China deteriorated when the Taiwanese Representative Office was opened in Vilnius in November 2021.
Beijing, which regards the island to be its breakaway province, objected to the use of the name of Taiwan rather than Taipei and accused Lithuania of violating the “one China” principle. Beijing then started pressuring Lithuania economically and downgraded the level of diplomatic representation.
Programmes of the previous Social Democratic Governments led by Prime Ministers Gintautas Paluckas and Inga Ruginienė had included a provision to strengthen economic and cultural ties with Taiwan, but this point was removed from the programme of the current Social Democratic Government led by Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius.