Brussels has launched proceedings at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China over its trade restrictions against EU member state Lithuania.

"Since attempts to find a bilateral solution have failed, the EU has decided to launch a dispute settlement procedure against China," said EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Thursday.

Lithuania has been under severe economic pressure since China retaliated for opening a Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius in November under its own name.

Officially, China only downgraded diplomatic relations with Vilnius.

However, Lithuanian companies with connections to the People's Republic complain about massive trade restrictions.

Beijing is said to have acted without informing the EU or the Lithuanian authorities.

"Initiating a WTO case is not a step we take lightly," the Trade Commissioner said.

Brussels has "gathered evidence of the various types of Chinese restrictions" in recent weeks.

China called Brussels' initiation of the procedure "unfounded and inconsistent".

The dispute between China and Lithuania is "political and not economic" in nature, said the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing.

Beijing's behavior "discriminatory and illegal"

According to the EU, China refuses to declare Lithuanian goods.

In addition, pressure has increased on other European companies to remove Lithuanian components from their supply chains.

Brussels sees Beijing's behavior as "discriminatory and illegal".

Parallel to the WTO procedure, however, diplomatic efforts to defuse the situation would continue.

The first step in the WTO dispute settlement process, according to Dombrovskis, is a "request for consultations" by which the EU formally asks China for more information about its actions.

If these consultations fail within 60 days, the EU can request a body to decide the matter.

After decades of pressure from Beijing, only a few countries officially recognize Taiwan as a state.

Recently, however, other Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also approached Taipei again, despite China's protests.

Lithuania also continues to plan to open its own commercial office in Taiwan in the coming months.

Tensions between Beijing and Taipei have increased significantly in recent months.

Beijing is threatening to unite the democratically governed island with the communist mainland by force if necessary.

The protecting power USA is behind the government in Taipei.