Latvia and Estonia have left a Chinese-backed forum aimed at boosting relations with eastern European countries, the two Baltic countries have said, in what appears to be a new setback for China’s increasingly assertive diplomacy.
The move follows China’s boosting of its relations with Russia, whose invasion of Ukraine is seen as a possible first step in a series of moves against countries that were once part of the Soviet Union. China has refused to criticize Russia and has condemned punishing economic sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West.
Weeks before the war started in February, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, where they declared in a joint statement that their countries’ bilateral relations had “no limits.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Latvia’s and Estonia’s announcements came after Beijing launched economic and diplomatic retaliation against another Baltic state, Lithuania, in retaliation for its expanded ties with Taiwan.
China’s increasing assertiveness and last week’s threatening military drills near Taiwan have brought a sharp backlash from the US and other democracies.
“In view of the current priorities of Latvian foreign and trade policy, Latvia has decided to cease its participation in the cooperation framework of Central and Eastern European Countries and China,” the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.
The country “will continue to strive for constructive and pragmatic relations with China both bilaterally, as well as through EU-China cooperation based on mutual benefit, respect for international law, human rights and the international rules-based order,” the statement said.
Estonia issued a similar statement, saying it would “continue to work towards constructive and pragmatic relations with China, which includes advancing EU-China relations in line with the rules-based international order and values such as human rights.”
“Estonia participated in the cooperation format of Central and Eastern Europe and China from 2012. Estonia has not attended any of the meetings of the format after the summit last February,” the statement said.
China originally styled the forum as a “17-plus-one” arrangement, but the number of European partners has now fallen to 14.
Critics say the forum was an attempt to exploit differences among those states as part of a larger campaign to join with Russia in undermining the current rules-based international order dominated by the US and its allies.
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