China demands recall of Lithuanian envoy over Taiwan recognition

The Chinese foreign ministry on Tuesday urged Lithuania to "immediately rectify its wrong decision" and "not to move further down the wrong path".

The opening of the Vilnius office is the latest sign that some Baltic and central European countries are seeking closer relations with Taiwan, even if that angers China.

In May, Lithuania announced it was quitting China's 17+1 cooperation forum with central and eastern European states, calling it "divisive".

It has since pledged to donate 20,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan.

And in 2019, Prague cancelled a sister-city agreement with Beijing and signed one with Taipei, while a high-profile visit to Taiwan last year by Czech senate leader Milos Vystrcil infuriated China.

China cut official contact with Taiwan and ramped up diplomatic pressure after the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen.

Tsai, who won re-election by a landslide last year, rejects Beijing's stance that the island is part of "one China" and instead views Taiwan as a de facto sovereign state.

Beijing has in recent years persuaded some of Taiwan's few diplomatic allies to switch sides through a mixture of pressure, threats and economic incentives.

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