‘About time’: EU sues China over economic coercion of Lithuania

London: The European Union is suing China in the World Trade Organisation over what it says is Beijing’s economic coercion against member state Lithuania.

The tiny eastern Baltic state angered Beijing when it said that the Taiwanese office in Vilnius would bear the name ‘Taiwan’ instead of ‘Chinese Taipei’, which is used by nations to avoid offending China.

Beijing has retaliated, expelling Lithuania’s ambassador and withdrawing its own ambassador from the country, which has a population of fewer than 3 million.

The Lithuanian Embassy is seen in Beijing.Credit: AP

Lithuania and the EU are accusing Beijing of holding up Lithuanian exports as well as goods from European companies which use Lithuanian-made parts and of cutting exports to Lithuania.

“Let me be clear: These measures are a threat to the integrity of the EU Single Market,” the European Commission’s Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in a statement.

EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.Credit: AP

“They affect intra-EU trade and EU supply chains. And they have a negative impact on EU industry.”

“This is why we are stepping forward to defend the EU’s rights,” he said.

Dombrovskis also said that the EU-China relationship required “mutual respect,” a phrase often used by Chinese diplomats when making demands and critiques of the West.

Lithuania, a neighbour to Belarus and a Russia-controlled enclave, has found itself under pressure from those countries in recent months as well.

Russia’s build-up of troops on Ukraine’s borders has stirred fearful memories of Soviet domination, while Belarus in recent months has trafficked migrants from the Middle East to the border of Poland and Lithuania in a form of hybrid attack.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis welcomed the action against China.

“This step is a clear message to China that the EU will not tolerate politically motivated actions of economic coercion,” Landsbergis said.

China’s foreign affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian said Lithuania should “correct its mistake”.

“We also advise the EU to distinguish right from wrong, remain vigilant against Lithuania’s attempts to hijack China-EU relations, and persuade Lithuania, like other EU member states, to fulfil the political commitments it made as establishing diplomatic relations with China,” Zhao said.

“We urge Lithuania to immediately correct its mistake,” he said.

Vilnius, the Lithuanian Capital, during the light festival held to celebrate the city’s 669th anniversary. Credit: AP

Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, the co-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which was formed in the wake of China’s trade sanctions on Australia, said the EU’s action was welcome, although it could have come sooner.

“It’s about time somebody faced down China’s bullying,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald & The Age.

“It’s just a shame it didn’t happen sooner. When China imposed 240 per cent tariffs on Australian wine, they were in clear breach of WTO rules, yet nothing was done.

“I hope this signals a sea change in the approach of democratic countries towards China, and their refusal to play by the rules, and I hope the WTO does the right thing and imposes appropriate penalties,” he said.

Duncan Smith, along with Lithuanian IPAC co-chair Dovilė Šakalienė were two of a string of British and European MPs sanctioned by China over sanctions the West imposed relating to human rights abuses against the Uighurs in Xinjang.

Australia has also taken China to the WTO over trade sanctions Beijing imposed after Australia called for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.

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