A Lithuanian delegation arrived in Taiwan led by Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic Agne Vaitsukevichiute, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry reports on its Twitter.

“Taiwan welcomes Agne Vaitsukevichiute and her delegation with the greatest joy!

We wish the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications of Lithuania a very productive five-day visit aimed at strengthening strategic cooperation and business ties in the advanced industries of the future,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Lithuanian delegation intends, in particular, to meet with representatives of the Taiwan Ministry of Transport and visit the production of electric buses.

It is worth noting that the visit of officials from Lithuania takes place against the backdrop of an escalation of tension around Taiwan after a visit to the island by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

Beijing regarded this visit as a provocation that violates the "one China" principle.

In response, the Chinese side began military exercises with firing near Taiwan, and also canceled a number of meetings with American colleagues and interrupted cooperation in several areas, including in the military sphere.

In addition, Beijing threatened Washington with "serious consequences" due to the visit of the speaker of the lower house of the US Congress.

However, according to Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, with her visit, Pelosi allegedly "opened the door to Taiwan even wider."

At the same time, he expressed confidence that "other defenders of freedom and democracy will come to the island very soon."

He wrote about this on his Twitter.

The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry, in turn, thanked the diplomat for the decision to support the island, noting that Lithuania is Taipei's only partner in the EU.

"At a time when authoritarian leaders are stepping up pressure on the free world, the support of Taiwan's friends in Lithuania, such as Gabrielius Landsbergis, is sincerely appreciated," the Taiwanese foreign ministry said.

  • Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan

  • AP

  • ©Taiwan Presidential Office

However, China condemned the statement of the head of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

In a comment on the website of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Lithuania, Landsbergis's words were called "erroneous statements" that further harm bilateral relations.

"Designed to show loyalty"

According to Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, by organizing a visit of his delegation to Taiwan just a few days after Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island, Lithuania is "deliberately copying the United States."

“Such a move is intended to demonstrate to the United States Lithuania's loyalty and its readiness to support any course of Washington's foreign policy, including the strategy on Taiwan.

It is clear that the pathetic goal of “strengthening strategic cooperation between the parties” is just a pretext for the visit of the Lithuanian delegation, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, Olenchenko believes that the trip of Lithuanian representatives to Taiwan was coordinated with the United States.

“Lithuania's support for Taiwan is part of Washington's strategy to legitimize its actions on the island.

At the same time, it is the head of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, Landsbergis, who pinned hopes that "other defenders of freedom and democracy" would visit Taiwan, who plays the role of an American mouthpiece calling on others to act.

The Americans are interested in the fact that representatives of other countries also come to Taiwan,” the analyst said.

According to Olenchenko, the real purpose of this whole undertaking is to show China that the United States is supposedly not alone in its intention to maintain relations with Taiwan. 

Nikolai Mezhevich, president of the Baltic Studies Association, holds a similar position.

In his opinion, with his trip to Taiwan, Lithuania wants to earn "some ticks in the eyes of the American authorities."

“There is no basis for this kind of contacts between Vilnius and Taipei, except for the desire to curry favor with Washington and annoy Beijing.

For the Lithuanian economy, this is an absolutely meaningless visit, since it will not bring any economic benefits to the republic, in particular, due to the limited possibilities of the parties for trade interaction.

This is a political dead end, ”the expert said in a conversation with RT.

As Mezhevich explained, cargo from Taiwan to Lithuania can only get through very complex logistics.

But this is not economically feasible. 

  • Lithuanian delegation in Taiwan

  • © Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China Taiwan

"China will not be ignored"

Meanwhile, analysts drew attention to the status of the Lithuanian delegation.

In their opinion, despite the desire of Vilnius to please Washington, Lithuania did not send representatives of a higher rank to Taiwan than the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications.

According to experts, Vilnius fears a further deterioration in relations with Beijing, which would be extremely disadvantageous for the Lithuanian side in terms of economic cooperation.

“Lithuania fears the complete destruction of profitable ties with China, but at the same time wants to please the US.

Therefore, in order to maintain bilateral relations, the Lithuanian delegation was headed by a representative of a non-core ministry,” Vladimir Olenchenko explained.

In turn, Nikolai Mezhevich noted that in the context of the worsening economic crisis, Lithuania cannot afford to lose all economic ties with China.

Recall that relations between Lithuania and China escalated in 2021, after the official representative office of Taiwan was opened in Vilnius.

In this regard, the Chinese Foreign Ministry protested to Lithuania, and later lowered the level of diplomatic relations to chargé d'affaires.

In addition, the PRC government has suspended freight rail transportation to Lithuania and reduced the credit limit for Lithuanian businesses. 

“China is well aware of Lithuania's economic opportunities and, if they wish, they can put pressure on the necessary levers to worsen life in this country, which is now already facing incredible price increases, high inflation and other signs of a crisis.

Therefore, statements about the intention of Lithuania and Taiwan to strengthen business ties in the advanced sectors of the future look simply ridiculous against this background: Vilnius now has too many problems in the economy for this,” Mezhevich said.

Recall, according to Eurostat on July 29, Lithuania ranks second after Estonia in the euro area in terms of annual inflation, which in June reached 20.5% (in January this figure was 12.3%). 

At the same time, according to experts, the increase in the cost of energy resources significantly affects the growth of inflation.

According to the Latvian electricity management system operator JSC Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST), the average monthly electricity price in Lithuania rose to a record €305.36/MWh in July.

In addition, a historically high indicator of the hourly cost of electricity was recorded: on July 21 from 18:00 to 19:00 - € 2100.08 / MWh.

As Mezhevich notes, due to the record high cost of electricity in Lithuania, the cost of food also increases significantly, as a result, the population is noticeably poorer.

  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania

  • © Wikimedia Commons

According to the Lithuanian media, the savings of the inhabitants of the Baltic republic began to melt.

Sources in the banking sector report that since the beginning of the year, the deferred money from customers has decreased by €180 million.

The debts of Lithuanians are also growing: from December 2021 to June 2022, debts increased by €12 million.

According to analysts, in the face of such economic problems, Beijing's possible harsh response to the visit of the Lithuanian delegation to Taiwan could be very painful for Vilnius.

“China will not leave this unattended, despite the fact that relations with Lithuania have already been significantly reduced.

But Beijing still has the tools to negatively impact the Lithuanian economy, since economic ties between the countries still exist.

And in the conditions of the crisis in Lithuania, any such step by Beijing can significantly hurt the Baltic republic, ”concluded the expert.