Lithuania reportedly removed from China’s customs registry

The move has left many Lithuanian goods stranded at sea….reports Asian Lite News

Lithuania — the European nation which has been strengthening ties with Taiwan in recent days — has been reportedly removed from China’s custom’s registry in retaliation for warming ties with Taipei, reported local media.

The move has left many Lithuanian goods stranded at sea.

A Lithuanian wood exporter on Thursday said that his company’s products were barred from entering Shanghai port because Lithuania is no longer in the computer system, Taiwan News reported citing 15min, Lithuania based news website.

“Lithuania has been crossed out, it seems that there’s no such country in China’s customs system,” President of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists Vidmantas Janulevicius said.

Now firms such as the wood exporter, which has 300 containers sailing to China, have their products floating in limbo.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry confirmed to Baltic News Service (BNS) that the country’s exporters have encountered problems exporting goods to China. The ministry said it has received reports about “possible disruptions for Lithuanian production in China” and has contacted Lithuanian companies, according to Taiwan News.

This comes as Lithuania on Friday confirmed diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics amid concerns over the human rights situation in China.

“Lithuania confirms diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 Olympics. President @GitanasNauseda confirmed that neither he nor Ministers would attend,” Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) tweeted.

Aside from Lithuania, both US and UK are said to be considering the diplomatic boycott over the human rights violations in China.

This comes as human rights activists have raised their voices against China’s detention of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province and crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Earlier this year, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union imposed sanctions on four Chinese officials and one entity for alleged human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

This news about the diplomatic boycott comes amid deteriorating ties between China and Lithuania.

The relations between the two countries soured this year after the Lithuanian government allowed Taiwan to open a representative office in the country. Back in August, China recalled its ambassador from Vilnius, to which Lithuania responded reciprocally in September.

Recently, reports emerged that Lithuanian companies are facing problems with customs clearance in Chinese ports after China allegedly deleted Lithuania from its customs systems. (ANI)

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