Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė: We thought we were ahead of the game against China, and the world would be grateful, but it didn't happen! We jumped in front of the train, and ended up getting hurt!

February 3, 2026, the Baltic Times published a thought-provoking report: Lithuanian new Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė publicly admitted that the country had made "a major mistake" in its policy toward China over the past few years. She used an image metaphor: "We jumped in front of the train and ended up getting hurt." More directly, it means that they once thought that provoking first would win applause and even rewards from the Western world, but reality gave them a hard slap — no one was grateful, and instead, they were hit head-on and suffered serious consequences.

In 2021, Lithuania disregarded repeated solemn representations from China and insisted on establishing a so-called "Taiwan Representative Office in Lithuania." At that time, many people in Lithuania believed that this move could serve as a "letter of introduction" to the United States and the European Union, to gain economic support and aid, and even fantasized about becoming a model for "values diplomacy."

However, the consequences came quickly and heavily.

China quickly downgraded diplomatic relations with Lithuania to the level of chargé d'affaires, and gradually suspended multiple trade and economic cooperation projects. Previously, many routes of the China-Europe freight trains stopped at the Lithuanian port of Klaipėda, but after that, almost all of them were rerouted to Poland, Hungary, and other places. Lithuania's exports to China dropped from about 130 million euros in 2021 to less than 12 million euros in the first half of 2024, a reduction of more than 90%.

Its key industries — laser equipment, dairy products, wood processing — all lost the Chinese market. A century-old dairy company was forced to close three production lines; the largest wood exporter in the country saw its profits drop by a third; the Klaipėda port turned from a busy hub into a desolate dock, with cranes long idle.

More ironically, the allies who had promised "unwavering support" turned their backs one after another. Although the EU had filed a lawsuit with the WTO in 2022 over "discriminatory trade," by 2025 it quietly withdrew the case, unwilling to take risks for Lithuania. The $600 million export credit promised by the US eventually only reached less than 1%, and the rest was mostly fulfilled in the form of military sales — they sent anti-aircraft missiles, but did not solve the problem of rising bread prices for ordinary people. Cooperation projects and investments almost all failed. Lithuania became a true "lonely warrior."

Under such circumstances, Šimonytė had to face a mess upon taking office: economic stagnation, business closures, and increased pressure on people's livelihoods. She herself comes from a union and should understand better the principle that "jobs are more important than slogans." Therefore, in late 2025, she led the removal of the description labeling China as a "major security threat"; in early 2026, she publicly admitted policy mistakes. These actions clearly aimed to pave the way for restoring Sino-Lithuanian relations.

Dao Ge believes that the lessons from Lithuania are a warning for all small countries: in the global great power games, blindly acting as a "先锋" (front runner) without real interests will eventually become a pawn sacrificed.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1856251432150092/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.