VILNIUS (Reuters) -China has imposed a customs block on Lithuanian exports, a Lithuanian trade body said on Friday, amid a deepening spat between Beijing and Vilnius about the Baltic state’s decision to allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy.
China downgraded its diplomatic ties with the Baltic state and suspended consular services there after the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania opened on Nov. 18.
China views self-ruled Taiwan as its territory with no rights as a state. Other Taiwanese offices in Europe and the United States use the name of the city Taipei, avoiding any reference to the island itself.
“I regret this decision by the Chinese authorities,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters on Friday.
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