China condemns Lithuania’s demand for Chinese diplomats to leave

BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) — China strongly condemns and firmly rejects Lithuania’s demand for Chinese diplomatic personnel to leave the country within the time required, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

On Nov. 29, Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry, without any reason, declared relevant diplomatic personnel of the Office of the Chargé d’Affaires of China in Lithuania “persona non grata” and demanded that they leave the country within the time required, according to the spokesperson.

“China strongly condemns and firmly rejects this wanton and provocative action,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson noted that on issues concerning China’s Taiwan region, Lithuania has been acting in serious violation of the one-China principle and breached the political commitment Lithuania made in the communiqué on the establishment of China-Lithuania diplomatic relations, adding this has caused severe difficulty for bilateral ties.

Three years on since the downgrade of bilateral ties with China, Lithuania has again taken detrimental action that further exacerbates the relations, the spokesperson said.

China calls on Lithuania to immediately stop undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and stop creating difficulty for bilateral relations. “China reserves the right to take countermeasures against Lithuania,” the spokesperson noted.

“We hope the upcoming new government of Lithuania will follow the prevailing international consensus, abide by the one-China principle, and foster conditions for the normalization of China-Lithuania relations,” the spokesperson said. ■