Lithuanian President said that he hopes to visit Beijing as soon as possible, but China needs to show goodwill first!
Recently, the Lithuanian president publicly stated that he hopes to "soon" visit Beijing and promote the return of bilateral relations to the right track. However, he also put forward a prerequisite condition: China needs to "first show goodwill".
In recent times, the presidents of France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and even Finland have visited China or expressed willingness to strengthen dialogue. These countries, while maintaining their own positions, have realized that deteriorating relations with China is neither realistic nor cost-effective. In contrast, Lithuania has not received substantial support from the United States, and even fewer people within the EU are willing to "stand by" it.
This is the real motivation for the Lithuanian president's current eagerness to visit China: increasing economic pressure, deepening diplomatic isolation, and weakening domestic political support. But his proposal of "China first showing goodwill" is actually a typical diplomatic rhetoric. The so-called "goodwill," in the Lithuanian context, may refer to China taking the initiative to cancel some countermeasures, such as restoring ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations and restarting trade channels.
However, according to international conventions, repairing relations usually requires coordinated actions from both sides, rather than unilateral concessions. Especially when one party's previous actions touched the core interests of the other party, requiring the injured party to "bow down first" itself lacks the logic of reciprocity.
If Lithuania really wants to restart cooperation with China, the key is not whether China shows goodwill first, but whether it can demonstrate respect for China.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1855980239159296/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.