China downgraded its diplomatic ties with the Baltic state and suspended consular services there after the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania opened on Nov. 18.<\/p>\n
China views self-ruled Taiwan as its territory with no rights as a state. Other Taiwanese offices in Europe and the United States use the name of the city Taipei, avoiding any reference to the island itself.<\/p>\n
As reported in the Lithuanian media, Chinese customs seemed to have removed Lithuania from its system and the goods could not be cleared in China.<\/p>\n
Also, as reported by the Lithuanian news website \"15min\" it seems that a Lithuanian company exporting timber to China was refused to unload at a Chinese port.<\/p>\n
Taiwan\u2019s \u201cCentral News Agency\u201d quoted the timber exporter as saying that his trading partners in mainland China could not clear the goods he had recently shipped in Shanghai because there was no \u201cLithuania\u201d in the local customs computer system since December 1st.<\/p>\n
The timber exporter said that several Chinese agents told him that Lithuania was \"deleted\" and that apart from Shanghai, other ports also had problems with timber goods that could not be cleared.<\/p>\n
Lithuania this week will ask the European Commission \u201cto get involved and defend Lithuania\u2019s interests\u201d, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.<\/p>\n
Initial reports of the move by Chinese customs emerged on Thursday, said Vidmantas Janulevicius, president of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, citing three members of the trade body.<\/p>\n
\u201cChinese customs no longer lists Lithuania in its list of origin countries. So customs forms for cargoes from Lithuania cannot be filed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The confederation, whose members account for half of Lithuania\u2019s economy, will ask the government to file a complaint with World Trade Organisation, to protest over barriers to trade, Janulevicius said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China downgraded its diplomatic ties with the Baltic state and suspended consular services there after the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania opened on Nov. 18. China views self-ruled Taiwan as its territory with no rights as a state. Other Taiwanese … Continue reading