China has decided to recall the Chinese ambassador from Vilnius due to the fact that the Lithuanian authorities have allowed Taiwan to open a “representative office” in the country, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan, Joseph Wu, announced that the island is going to open a representative office in Lithuania, it will be located in Vilnius and will be called “Taiwan representative office in Lithuania.” The Minister of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania, Aushrine Armonaite, for her part, said that Lithuania will open a trade office in Taiwan in October-November.
“Recently, the Lithuanian government, despite repeated submissions from the Chinese side and warnings about the consequences, announced that it would allow the Taiwanese administration to open a “representative office” on behalf of Taiwan and the territorial integrity of China”, – the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry notes that “China is strongly opposed to this, the PRC government decided to recall the Chinese ambassador to Lithuania and asked the Lithuanian government to recall the ambassador to China.”