Estonia and Latvia, which are members of the European Union and NATO, no longer intend to cooperate with China in the so-called “17 plus 1” format. Instead, both countries will pursue “constructive and pragmatic relations” with Beijing on a bilateral basis and through the development of EU-China ties. This announcement was made public on Thursday, August 11, by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs in Tallinn and Riga. In May 2021, Lithuania left the 17+1 format.

“The format of cooperation with China ’17 plus 1′ became unnecessary and caused controversy long before Lithuania withdrew. Now Latvia and Estonia are closing the door,” wrote the head of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. , Gabrielius Landsbergis, on Twitter.

In his opinion, the pan-European cooperation format with Beijing should replace the previous platform. It “must be replaced by the EU 27+1,” Landsbergis said.

Trade and diplomatic conflict between Lithuania and China

At the end of November 2021, Beijing lowered the level of diplomatic relations with Lithuania after Vilnius opened an official representative office for Taiwan, while in most countries in the world there are representative offices in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, which helps. to avoid conflicts with China. In early December, a complete cessation of trade relations between the PRC and Lithuania followed.