China’s engagement with our region is not only about economic diversification but also about strengthening its political influence. Lithuania’s current criticism of China also reflects a general frustration with China’s cooperation and expansion of influence in many Central and Eastern European countries, while at the same time there has been a marked increase in China’s dialogue with some of these countries, notably Hungary, Greece and, to some extent, Poland. The issue of Taiwan is becoming topical. These and other related issues are the focus of the China Research Programme. Read the latest publications by our analysts or get in touch if you have specific questions.
Xi Jinping was re-elected as the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee (CC). This is already his third five-year term in office.
In November 2021, Lithuania’s government agreed to establish a Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius; in August 2022, Nancy Pelosi, the US Speaker of the House, made a bold visit to Taiwan despite all the threatening rhetoric from the People’s Republic of China.
The report on human rights in Xinjiang, released at the last minute by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, was an unpleasant blow to China’s leadership, which had considered her last visit a success.
The Code Red scandal, which has sent shockwaves through Chinese society, has shown that rapid digitalisation and the government’s overwhelming influence in the technology sector can be used against people.
While the COVID outbreak in Shanghai and Beijing is considered contained, considerable tensions and uncertainty remain in society due to the fact that severe restrictions can be reapplied at any time.
10 years ago, on 26 April 2012, the first summit between China and 16 CEE (Central and Eastern European) countries took place in Warsaw, launching the “16 + 1” format for China’s cooperation with the region
The strict COVID management policy initiated by Xi Jinping in 2020 has become one of the world’s most impressive success stories: Not only has China successfully contained the outbreak in Wuhan, it has also managed to achieve positive annual economic growth.
The uncertainty of Beijing’s position over the Russia-Ukraine war and the effort to present itself as a neutral observer is becoming an increasing challenge.
China’s interaction with CEE region and the objectives of its model of cooperation it formulated were premised not only on economic diversification but also on increasing Beijing’s political (normative) influence.
The review of Lithuania–China relations initiated by the current Government has already meant a significant decoupling on both the political–diplomatic and the economic–technological levels.
The 2010s were especially tumultuous times for the world, with it facing new challenges to international order and stability.
Since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko’s authoritarian rule and his regime’s grip on power has strengthened continuously, at the great cost of diminishing Belarusian civil liberties.
As of the end of 2020, for obvious and rather gloomy reasons the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has actually increased its topical relevance in the world, as well as in Lithuania, in comparison with the previous year which itself already seems to be a distant memory.
As will be shown below, the year 2019 also was unprecedentedly eventful for Sino-Lithuanian relations, causing numerous political debates and public interest in the southernmost of the Baltic states.
Established in early 2019, the EESC’s China Studies Programme analyses political, economic and socio-cultural processes related to China and its foreign policy. Publications and events aim to deepen understanding of China’s strategic and geopolitical objectives, their impact on Europe and transatlantic relations, as well as on Lithuania’s strategic objectives. The research programme is coordinated by analysts and associate experts from the Eastern Europe Studies Centre.
Associate Expert of RESC China Research Program, PhD student at VU Institute of International Relations and Political Science. Raigirdas holds a bachelor’s degree in Asian and Pacific Studies (Chinese Studies) from Lancashire Central University (UK). After studying, he went to China, where he spent five years studying and working. Raigirdas completed a year-long intensive Chinese language and culture course at the Sichuan University (Confucius Institute Scholarship). In 2020, he graduated from Sichuan University (China) with a Master’s degree in International Relations in Chinese. Raigirdas interests: sinology, Chinese foreign and domestic policy, history of the PRC, relations and conflicts between East Asian countries.
Associate Professor of Asian Studies and International Politics at Vilnius University (Lithuania); former Senior Visiting Scholar at China’s Fudan (Shanghai, 2011) and Zhejiang (Hangzhou, 2013) Universities, as well as at Columbia University (New York, USA, 2017, Fulbright Scholar Program); author of two books on contemporary Sino-Russian-Indian relations (2016) and on the History of Pre-modern Non-European Civilizations (2018).
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