The European Union has decided to suspend a lawsuit against China in the World Trade Organization (WTO), a dispute involving China’s restrictions on trade with Lithuania, by EFE on January 26, following the opening of the so-called “representative office” in Lithuania in Taiwan in 2021.

According to the latest news from Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, the EU has notified WTO member states that it hopes to “immediately suspend” the proceedings in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding. EU Commission spokesman for Trade Affairs Olof Gill explained that the suspension was “procedural step taken for technical reasons” in connection with the assessment of the proposed written materials.

The WTO said on January 26 that the EU’s panel of experts on the dispute had requested an immediate suspension of the proceedings, which could last for up to 12 months, if the EU decided not to resume the proceedings after the deadline, which could mean the final end of the dispute.

The EU accused China of taking “discriminatory and coercive measures” against exports of products to Lithuania and European products containing Lithuanian-produced ingredients or components at the beginning of 2022 in the WTO, reporting that in recent years, Chinese customs have suspended imports of products related to Lithuania, including multinational goods using Lithuanian products.

On November 30, 2023, when asked whether the normal trade relationship between China and Lithuania had been restored, China's Ministry of Commerce spokeswoman Benyang Tian said that China's position on the Taiwan issue was consistent and clear. she pointed out that Lithuania's misconduct on the Taiwan issue seriously affected the confidence of neutral two-country enterprises to carry out mutually beneficial cooperation and urged Cuba to correct the mistakes and create favorable conditions for bilateral economic and trade cooperation.