- Amid Western criticism of China over the escalating pressure on democratically-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, and the strengthening of ties with Russia during the invasion of Ukraine, Beijing’s diplomacy suffers in Europe.
- Lithuania’s economy and innovation ministry announced on Wednesday (17 August) that the country will open a trade office in Taiwan in September and has appointed Paulius Lukauskas, currently an adviser to Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, to head the office.
- Although cooperation in the mechanism is officially slated to continue, with the next summit planned for 2023, Vilnius is not the only country in the region that has grown increasingly wary of Chinese influence and stepping up diplomatic activity which is likely to be interpreted as hostile by Beijing.
As EU-China relations cool, Europe increasingly looks to Taiwan
