[Epoch Times, January 8, 2022]The news that Taiwan purchased Lithuania’s rum blocked by the CCP and promised to invest US$200 million has attracted the attention of French media. Le Monde and scholars analyzed that the CCP is trying to deal with the whole of Europe through the establishment of the country to test the means of economic coercion, and the EU should respond in unity.
The 24,000 bottles of dark rum produced in Lithuania were rejected during customs clearance in China, and they were helpless drifting on the sea. The Taiwan Tobacco and Alcohol Company repurchased all of them into Taiwan after learning about it. The news spread to Europe and was reported by several media in France and Belgium.
On the 6th, Le Monde, entitled “Lithuania: An Experimental Country for China’s Economic Coercion Strategy in Europe”, analyzed the implications and impact of the incident on Europe.
The report first stated that more than 20,000 bottles of rum produced by MV Group Production in Lithuania were rejected by the CCP Customs, and the Taiwan Tobacco and Alcohol Company bought the entire container, which will arrive a few days later, adding luster to the Taiwanese bar bartending list.
The article quoted a statement from a tobacco and alcohol company on the 3rd: “Lithuania supports us, we support Lithuania, and Taiwan tobacco and alcohol propose a toast to this.” On the 5th, the Taiwanese government even stated that it would set up a US$200 million fund to invest in Lithuanian industry.
Le Monde pointed out that since Lithuania withdrew from the 17+1 cooperation mechanism between Eastern Europe and the Chinese Communist Party in May 2021, and allowed the establishment of a Taiwan representative office in the capital Vilnius under the name of “Taiwan” instead of “Taipei” tolerated by Beijing. , They are frequently attacked by the CCP. The trade and diplomatic battle between the two parties and their allies began.
On the 5th, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Manfred Weber, the largest party group in the European Parliament and the chairman of the European People’s Party (EPP Group), also exchanged views with Lithuanian Prime Minister Simonit (Ingrida). Simonyte) reiterated his support.
On the same day, the United States and Germany expressed their support to Lithuania at the same time. In a joint press conference, the foreign ministers of the two countries allege that the CCP’s pressure on Lithuania is unreasonable. On the 6th, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin accused the United States of “exposing the plot of’using Taiwan to control China’.”
According to the report, Lithuania, a small Baltic country with a population of 2.8 million, exports US$357 million of goods to China, of which cereals are the bulk, and imports US$1.3 billion of goods from China, mainly electrical products.
The Chinese customs’ restrictions on Lithuanian companies may seriously harm the economy, even though the authorities are reluctant to reveal details. The founding government also announced on the 5th a subsidy program of 130 million euros to assist companies that have suffered losses due to the Chinese Communist Party’s sanctions.
Le Monde interviewed Antoine Bondaz, a researcher at the French Strategic Research Foundation (FRS). He said that European countries should stand on the same line as Lithuania. Because in Bondaz’s view, the incident is not only a bilateral trade dispute, but also a test of how the CCP can wield a weapon of economic coercion in an attempt to deal with the entire Europe.
Bondaz explained that the CCP used economic coercion to hit hard. This method was used to sanction South Korea and Australia, but now it is Europe. “This is a multilateral economic issue.” He told Le Monde, “It is a mistake to think that as long as the name of the Taiwan office in Vilnius can be restored to normal, it is a mistake, because this title has absolutely no impact on the EU’s foreign policy. The EU only has diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, which is in line with the EU’s (Co-)national definition”.
European Union Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis recently pointed out that many EU companies have also been affected and have received more and more reports of other member states being blocked by the CCP. He said: “Obviously, if other European countries use parts and components from Lithuania, they will also be rejected by the Chinese (Communist) customs.”
The Chinese Communist Party’s official media refuted these claims as “irresponsible comments” and denied imposing any restrictions.
Le Monde wrote that in order to deal with economic bullying by third countries and protect the interests of member states, the European Union has been discussing defensive tools against economic coercion. The article finally called on the European Union to unite, because “the unity of the European Union has long been in the sight of Beijing.”
(Central News Agency)
Editor in charge: Zhong Yuan
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