Lithuania's President, Gitanas Nauseda, said on Tuesday that his country's decision to open a representative office for Taiwan, using the name of the country, was a mistake.

The representative office was opened in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in November, starting a diplomatic row with China. 

"I think it was not the opening of the Taiwanese office that was a mistake. It was its name, which was not coordinated with me," Nauseda told a local radio station.

The name of the office, the President said, was a key factor that damaged Lithuania's relations with China. "I believe the name was the spark, and now we have to deal with the consequences," he declared.

On the domestic front, Lithuania's government is also contending with low approval ratings, which have hit a decade low. A poll published in December 2021 showed that the percentage of respondents who said that they trust the government fell to 17.3% in December from 21% in November. Those who distrust the government rose to 47.8% from 39.6%.

China Downgrades Relations with Lithuania

On November 21, 2021, China officially downgraded its relations with Lithuania to the level of chargé d'affaires, according to China's Foreign Ministry, in protest of Taiwan opening a de facto representative office in Vilnius.

The foreign ministry protested the move, saying it downgraded diplomatic relations between the two countries to "safeguard its sovereignty."

"The Lithuanian government, in disregard of the Chinese side’s strong objection and repeated dissuasion, has approved the establishment of the so-called ‘Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania,'” said China's statement. “The Chinese government expresses strong protest over and firm objection to this extremely egregious act. The Lithuanian side shall be responsible for all the ensuing consequences."

This move, according to the ministry, abandons Lithuania's political commitment in the communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Lithuania and China.