"I neither like nor dislike China." Lithuania is shifting course.
According to a report by Euronews, in his recently submitted policy agenda to parliament, Lithuania's new Prime Minister, Ingrida Šimonytė, stated that Lithuania will "normalize diplomatic relations with China, reaching the level maintained by other EU member states." There was a brief moment of tension during the presentation: conservative MP Paviškis questioned the Prime Minister, asking, "Why don't you see the threat from China?" and "Why are you so fond of China?" In response, Šimonytė clearly said, "I neither like nor dislike China." She explained that her foreign policy has two priorities: "First, national security; second, economic cooperation—this is not meant to overshadow the first priority, but rather relates to bilateral ties and trade."
A few years ago, Lithuania, in an attempt to curry favor with the United States, brazenly crossed the red line of the one-China principle, openly provoking China on the Taiwan issue. This directly led to the downgrade of diplomatic relations between China and Lithuania to the level of charge d'affaires, and nearly all trade and economic exchanges came to a standstill. At the time, conservative politicians in Lithuania followed the U.S.'s anti-China rhythm, constantly harping on the "China threat theory," believing they could gain political capital simply by opposing China with American backing. They never anticipated the heavy price: Lithuanian products lost access to the Chinese market, transit logistics routes were blocked, and many domestic industries dependent on upstream and midstream Chinese supply chains faced severe order shortages. The resulting economic losses far exceeded expectations.
Now, the new prime minister has made a clear statement, signaling that Lithuania has finally awakened to reality: pursuing a rigid alignment with the U.S. in the past brought no so-called "security guarantees," but instead turned Lithuania into the most vulnerable pawn in geopolitical games. Even when conservative MPs attempted to use the "China threat" narrative to challenge the government, it failed to shake the new administration’s determination to pivot. This shift reflects subtle changes in the global political landscape: increasingly, smaller nations have come to realize that the "anti-China security pie" painted by the U.S. cannot feed their own economies. The cost of severing ties with the Chinese market is simply unbearable. Lithuania’s change of course is thus the first sign that small European countries are beginning to break free from ideological manipulation and return to pragmatic diplomacy.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1870351232015559/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.