Amid growing west support for self-ruled democratic Taiwan, China has asked Germany to refrain from any such activities. A senior Chinese diplomat has called on the new German government to abide by the one-China principle and not play the ‘Taiwan card’ or send wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionist forces.
Wang Weidong, minister and chief of the Economic and Commercial Department at the Chinese Embassy in Germany, in a recent interview said that China has strictly followed WTO rules, criticizing certain Western media’s claims that China has moved to suspend clearing Lithuanian goods and reject import applications as “completely groundless.”
The remarks came after the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce wrote a letter to the Government of Lithuania, warning that if the Lithuanian authorities had not provided specific solutions to resolve the conflicts and improve relations with China, companies affiliated with the chamber will close their factories in Lithuania, and such behaviour would potentially impact German companies across multiple industries, including lasers and auto parts with factories in Lithuania.
In December, the German parliament passed a resolution on deepening ties with Taiwan amid rising tensions between Taipei and Beijing. The Petitions Committee of Germany’s new parliament, which met for the first time in October following a federal election in September, passed a resolution on December 9, urging the government to deepen exchanges with Taiwan, reported Focus Taiwan.
Wang sternly warned against Lithuania’s “microphone diplomacy” and its reckless hype over so-called “economic coercion” by Beijing targeting the EU. The comment comes as the country is starting to feel the brunt of its mistake on the Taiwan question.
“Playing the trick of ‘microphone diplomacy’ is not the right path and won’t work out. The Lithuanian side needs to look for internal reasons if cooperation between the two countries encounters difficulties. It needs to admit wrongdoings and take measures to rectify, so as to create a conducive environment for bilateral economic and trade cooperation,” Wang said.
The chamber, which represents many German businesses overseas, said that German companies pay close attention to developments and disputes between China and Lithuania.
Tensions between China and the Baltic nation have escalated in recent times after Lithuania took steps to strengthen ties with Taiwan. China considers Taiwan as its integral part. The tensions erupted between the two countries when in November Lithuania angered China by allowing Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius, equivalent to an embassy.
The representative office opened with the name “Taiwan Representative Office in Lithuania,” thereby implicitly implying recognition of a legal entity separate from the mainland.’
