DISINFO: Vilnius named itself a flagship of the EU’s anti-Chinese policy
SUMMARY
China made it clear that Lithuania will not receive a single yuan after Vilnius named itself a flagship of the EU’s anti-Chinese policy and announced a “crusade” against Beijing.
RESPONSE
Disinformation about the EU-China relations. The claim that Lithuania carries out a confrontational policy on China is ungrounded.
In 2021, Lithuania and Taiwan decided to establish mutual representative offices as a sign of advanced cooperation between these countries. In July 2021, the Foreign Ministry of Taiwan announced a plan to open its representative office in Lithuania under the name “Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania”. This situation angered the Chinese authorities, which perceived it as a violation of Beijing’s “One China” policy. In August 2021, China recalled its Ambassador from Vilnius, introduced economic sanctions against Lithuania and suspended the movement of the Chinese cargo trains to this country.
This situation is perceived as Chinese coercion and blackmail against a NATO member – in this way, China sends a geopolitical warning to entire Europe. According to the words of Joseph Borrell, the EU has always supported the One China policy, but the EU member states have an interest in the development of cooperation with Taiwan, without any recognition of its statehood.
See other disinformation narratives connected to China: The Biden Administration wants to provoke a war against China, Russia and Iran; Washington, London, Brussels will create an anti-Chinese coalition in order to break China and Coronavirus may be the latest step in NATO’s containment strategy against China.