VILNIUS — Taiwan said on Wednesday it would create a $200 million fund to invest in Lithuanian industries and boost bilateral trade as it tries to fend off diplomatic pressure on the Baltic state from China. The head of Taiwan’s representative office in Lithuania, Eric Huang, said the strategic investment fund would be funded by Taiwan’s national development fund and backed by its central bank. ADVERTISEMENTTaiwan has redirected 120 shipping containers from Lithuania blocked by China into its market, and will take “as much as possible” more, Huang said. Taiwan will also accelerate its approval process for Lithuanian dairy and grain exports into Taiwan and seek to link Lithuanian businesses into Taiwanese supply chains, he said. Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Tseng Hou-jen called the Chinese pressure on Lithuania “disproportionate.”“The U.S. and EU refer to Taiwan as Taiwan in their official documents, and China keeps quiet,” he said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer January 06, 2022 09:32 UTC