Viktoras Pranckietis, Speaker of the Seimas: "Lithuania and China have to continue to intensively search for new opportunities in each other’s markets"

Press release, 14 Aprl 2017

Photo of the Office of the Seimas (author Olga Posaškova)

Viktoras Pranckietis, Speaker of the Seimas, and Lithuanian MPs met with Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, and the delegation headed by him.

At the meeting held in the Seimas, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and the Speaker of the Seimas discussed bilateral cooperation between China and Lithuania. Both sides agreed that the existing potential of bilateral relations should have a positive impact on trade, transport and logistics, tourism, student exchanges, and encourage investment.

Mr Pranckietis noted that Lithuania gave priority to the cooperation with China in the field of transport. Lithuania is a country with a well-developed transport and logistics infrastructure and an efficient service sector. Therefore, it can be a reliable partner linking together Chinese and European Union markets in the implementation of China’s One Belt, One Road project.

Photo of the Office of the Seimas (author Džoja Gunda Barysaitė)

The Speaker stressed that Lithuania, as a transit country between East and West as well as North–South Transport Corridor, was known for its non-freezing seaport in Klaipėda, the multi-modal terminals, and the dual-gauge railway network. Lithuania continues to invest in transport infrastructure, Rail Baltica being the biggest infrastructure project currently implemented in cooperation with Latvia and Estonia.

China is interested in the potential of Lithuania’s transport and logistics sector for transit of goods as well as the seaport of Klaipėda, free economic zones, while the interests of the Lithuanian business sector lie with the expansion of export to the rapidly growing Chinese market.

“The 16 + 1 format, in which Lithuania participates, is an effective format that offers additional opportunities for cooperation and dialogue between the EU and China,” noted the Speaker of the Seimas.

Lithuania and China have to continue to work intensively searching for new opportunities in each other’s markets. With trade and investment growing on both sides, Lithuania’s export volume to China increased by 20.2 percent in 2016.

At the end of the discussion, the participants highlighted the importance of intensifying bilateral relations and cooperation between both countries’ institutions to ensure further stable development of the relations between Lithuania and China.

Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5  239 6002, +370 698 2204,

e-mail:[email protected]