Lithuania welcomes tougher EU action against China at WTO

Lithuania has welcomed the EU's stepped-up action at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China over improper trade practices.
"This step sends another message to China: the EU will defend the single market and EU member states by all means against China's politically motivated economic coercion," Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in Vilnius on Wednesday. Unlawful economic pressure against even one EU member state must be seen as an attack on the entire Union, he said.
The EU Commission had previously announced the establishment of two arbitration tribunals at the WTO - one of them in a lawsuit over trade restrictions imposed by Beijing against Lithuania following a diplomatic dispute.
Landsbergis stressed that his country was seeking constructive relations with China. However, systematic violations of international trade rules and legitimate business interests could not be tolerated.
Beijing downgraded its diplomatic relations with Lithuania after the Baltic EU state allowed Taiwan to open a representative office under its own name in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.