Gintautas Paluckas, the Social Democratic Party’s candidate for Lithuania prime minister following last month's general election, says that his government would aim to fully restore diplomatic relations with China, seeking to mend the rift that arose after Taiwan opened a representative office in Vilnius, BNS, a Lithuanian newswire, and LRT.lt, the website of Lithuania’s national broadcaster LRT, reported on November 1.

"Maintaining normal relations is certainly a goal," Paluckas said in an interview with BNS. "Even though the EU’s relations with China remain complex – involving disagreements over economic policies, tariffs, and protectionist measures – the EU still strives to uphold diplomatic ties," BNS said.

The previous centre-right government's hardline stance against Beijing harmed bilateral trade and yielded little in terms of trade with Taiwan, while Vilnius received only tepid support from the EU.

As reported by bne IntelliNews, Lithuania’s relations with China deteriorated in 2021 after the previous government permitted Taiwan to open a representative office under the name “Taiwan” rather than “Taipei”, which Beijing deemed a violation of its One-China policy. In response, China downgraded its diplomatic relations with Lithuania and imposed trade restrictions.

When asked if Lithuania would seek the return of its ambassador to Beijing and the reinstatement of the Chinese ambassador to Vilnius, Paluckas confirmed, “Absolutely yes”.

He emphasised, however, that normalising relations would not involve compromising Lithuania's dignity. “We are a sovereign country; we are not dependent on China, nor are we aiming to become so, but diplomatic relations are valuable, and it is essential to have them,” he said, BNS said.

Former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told investors in October 2022 that Lithuania is one of the countries in the world that can say it is "China-free". Despite the rift, recently bilateral trade volumes have been growing again.

In early 2022, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda commented that permitting the establishment of a "Taiwan representative office" in the capital, Vilnius, was a mistake, as it contradicts the one-China principle.

In a local radio interview, Nauseda seemed to shift responsibility for what may be Lithuania’s most significant diplomatic crisis to date, indicating that "the issue was with its name" and noting that the decision "was not coordinated with me", LRT.lt said.