The oldest brewery in Lithuania, “Wolfos”, has lost all Chinese orders since Lithuania allowed Taiwan to set up an office to challenge China’s sovereignty in the fall of 2021.
However, the cancellation of the Lithuanian beer order was not led by China’s official government, but a private initiative. Although China has clearly responded earlier that China has not treated any country with economic coercion, Lithuania still believes that this is the Chinese government’s economic suppression policy once morest Lithuania. So Lithuania sued China to the EU, and the EU wanted to sue China to the WTO. Currently, EU countries are discussing how to deal with China’s “trade sanctions” once morest Lithuania, but no substantive measures have been proposed.
After establishing a representative office with Taiwan, it is difficult for Lithuanian goods to enter the Chinese mainland market. “Wolfos” beer entered the Chinese mainland market 7 years ago, and its sales have been good. In 2020, the sales volume will reach 700,000 liters, and in 2021, it will reach 1.2 million liters. In fact, the original sales target for this year was 2 million liters. In the fourth quarter, Chinese merchants cancelled all orders, only to drop to 1.2 million liters.
At this time, Taiwan became the recipient of orders for Lithuanian breweries. “Wolfos” entered the Taiwan market in mid-2020 and sold 8,000 liters. However, in 2021, following Taiwan accepted returns from the mainland, the sales volume surged to 180,000 liters. This kind of sales is only 10% of the massive sales in China, and for “Wolfos”, the gains outweigh the losses.
On the other hand, Taiwanese people are very dissatisfied with the unlimited acceptance of Lithuanian goods by the Taiwan authorities. The 20,000 bottles of rum rejected by the mainland were accepted by Taiwan. Someone said unceremoniously, “The whole world seems to have discovered a common secret: as long as you love Taiwan, you will make money…”
Lithuania’s domestic policy toward China is currently in two polarities. One party apologizes to China, such as the President of Lithuania, who said that “the establishment of a representative office in Taiwan” was a mistake, while the other party believes that China should be condemned. US and EU for help.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Landsbergis.
On January 14, the 27 EU foreign ministers held an informal meeting in Brest, France, focusing on how to deal with China’s “trade sanctions” once morest Lithuania.
French former foreign minister Le Drian issued a statement following the meeting, saying that he would promote EU anti-coercion measures during his rotating presidency.
Former French Foreign Minister Le Drian. AP picture
The European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Borrell, and the foreign ministers of Sweden and Austria also expressed solidarity with Lithuania, but the meeting of foreign ministers did not propose substantive measures.
EU trade executive Dombrovskis said that Chinese customs no longer process products imported from Lithuania and block products from EU companies using Lithuanian components, and the number of products stuck in Chinese ports has been increasing.
On January 14, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Berger said that Germany and the EU stand with EU partner Lithuania. coercive measures”.
The European Commission is examining whether China’s coercive measures are in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) norms, and Berger said Germany believes that every WTO member must abide by its international obligations, including China.
World Trade Organization.Profile picture
The spokesperson of the Chinese mission to the EU issued a response, reiterating that Lithuania’s establishment of a representative office in the name of Taiwan is blatantly creating “one China, one Taiwan”, which seriously undermines the political foundation of China-Lithuania relations and seriously undermines the atmosphere of pragmatic cooperation between China and Lithuania. “China resolutely defends its legitimate rights and interests, and its response is reasonable, legitimate and necessary. China does not treat other countries with economic coercion, and it firmly opposes any form of political and diplomatic coercion.”
