Lithuania vs. China: A Baltic Minnow Defies a Rising Superpower

Despite its puny size, Lithuania looms surprisingly large in Chinese calculations, said Wu Qiang, a political analyst in Beijing, partly because of its role as a transit corridor for trains carrying goods from China to Europe.

It also commands Chinese attention because of its oversize role in the collapse of the Soviet Union, a drama that China has studied in hope of heading off similar centrifugal forces at home. In 1990, Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to declare its independence from Moscow — a cause led by the foreign minister’s grandfather, Vytautas Landsbergis.

“China regards Lithuania as a museum to save itself from a Soviet-like collapse,” Mr. Wu said.

The rift between the two countries flows from many sources, including a drive by Taiwan to rally political support, as well as Lithuanian elections last year that brought to power a new coalition government dominated by Mr. Landsbergis’ pro-American conservative party and liberals vociferous about defending human rights.

But it also reflects a wider backlash against China’s aggressive “wolf warrior” diplomacy across Europe and disenchantment with soaring Chinese exports that left imports from Europe trailing far behind.

In recent years, China has created resentment through hectoring behavior that reminds many in Lithuania of past bullying by Moscow. In 2019 Chinese diplomats organized a belligerent protest to counter a rally by Lithuanian citizens in support of Hong Kong’s democracy movement. The Chinese intervention led to scuffles in Cathedral Square of Vilnius, the capital.

“This approach does not win China any friends,” said Gintaras Steponavicius, a former legislator who helped set up a lobbying group, the Taiwan Forum. “We are not used to being told how to behave, even by a superpower.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/world/europe/lithuania-china-disputes.html