China suspends beef imports from Lithuania amid dispute over Taiwan
February 11, 2022, 10:00 am

China suspends beef imports from Lithuania amid dispute over Taiwan

China-Local market/Pixabay

The Euronews reported, China has suspended beef imports from Lithuania in an escalating row over the European country's support for Taiwan.

The General Administration of Customs confirmed on Thursday that meat would no longer be imported from Lithuania, without elaborating.

The EU member state had recently allowed Taiwan to open an official representative office in Vilnius under its own name, instead of "Chinese Taipei".

China responded by restricting diplomatic contacts with Lithuania and halting visas to the country.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and does not give diplomatic recognition to nations that treat the island as a separate state.

Lithuania claims that China has been blocking imports from the country in retaliation since December.

Last month, Brussels announced a World Trade Organisation (WTO) case would be launched against China for discriminatory trade practices against Lithuania that affect the whole of the EU.

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Australia, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States have all backed the European Union's case.

On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters that Lithuania should correct its mistakes, without mentioning the trade dispute.

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He said: "What Lithuania should do is face up to facts, redress its own mistakes, and come back to the right track of adhering to the one-China principle, instead of confusing right with wrong."

Source: euronews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.