Ruginienė says Taiwan office opening brought no benefit from Taipei

Opening a Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania brought no benefit from Taipei and damaged relations with China, Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė has said.

“The main mistake was made when we rushed ahead (…) and set up an office with a name no other EU country had used – thereby definitively severing any remaining, even professional, ties with China. What did this bring us? Exactly zero benefit from Taiwan and exactly a large minus from China,” Ruginienė told the news portal Lrytas in an interview published on Monday.

The premier reiterated comments she made in February, when she described the office’s opening as “running in front of a train and losing,” citing a lack of coordination with the EU and the US. She said consultations are now under way to normalise relations with China.

Ruginienė stressed the importance of raising the issue with Taipei and reminding it of past promises and commitments. “Let’s discuss whether we need to return to the same bilateral relations with Taiwan and remind it of the promises Lithuania has fulfilled – promises from which we have gained nothing,” she said.

“If we are clapping with one hand, I know I am doing everything to keep my commitments, and I very much hope the same from our partner. I find it unacceptable when one side tries while the other does not deliver what it has actually promised,” she added.

The prime minister has repeatedly stated she sees no reason why the office could not be renamed Taipei. President Gitanas Nausėda has meanwhile said Lithuania remains interested in restoring normal diplomatic ties with China while also seeking to exploit economic cooperation potential with Taiwan. According to the president, economic ties with Taipei have been exploited “only to a small extent” in recent years.

Ruginienė said the president supported all her foreign and security policy positions during a meeting of senior officials in February.

Relations between Vilnius and Beijing have been strained for several years over the naming of the Taiwanese representative office. Lithuania has had no accredited Chinese diplomats or staff since mid-May last year, and bilateral trade has declined since the office opened in 2021.

The government programme commits to restoring diplomatic relations with China “to the level seen in other EU member states.”

A recent public opinion survey by Baltijos tyrimai, commissioned by LRT, found that six in ten Lithuanians support changing the office’s name.