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Slovakia Defies China, Becomes Latest European Country to Hold Talks With Taiwan

Despite China’s retaliation and warnings of punitive diplomatic and trade measures, several EU countries have been forging closer ties with the self-governing island.

December 7, 2021
Slovakia Defies China, Becomes Latest European Country to Hold Talks With Taiwan
Slovakian Deputy Economy Minister Karol Galek, in Taipei.
IMAGE SOURCE: AP

In a sign of Taiwan’s strengthening relationship with Europe, senior officials of Slovakia and Taiwan met in Taipei during a visit that began on Sunday. This is the highest-level visit by a Slovakian delegation since it opened a representative office in Taiwan in 2003.

Slovakia’s 43-member delegation included 18 senior officials and 25 business representatives. Both sides participated in the Taiwanese-Slovak Commission on Economic Cooperation meeting that was held in Taipei yesterday. Taiwan was represented by its Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tien Chung-kwang.

“The fact that we are here today despite the pandemic is because we are determined and committed to working with Taiwan,” said Lucia Kišš, the director-general for Economic and Development Cooperation from Slovakia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, she also referred to Taiwan as “one of the most important investors” for the country.

Echoing the sentiment, Slovakia’s Second State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and head of the delegation, Karol Galek, said that Taiwan and Slovakia are headed for closer trade relations.

“Taiwan and Slovakia’s cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic proves the countries’ ability to work together as equal partners in good times and the bad,” he said. He further added that Slovakia is ready to work with the island as “small but open economies” in order to “find our place in an ever-changing global economy.” “I believe that [the meeting] will bring far-reaching discussions, allowing both sides to make the best of their economic potential for future cooperation,” Galek added.

The meeting with the European Union (EU) member country comes only weeks after Taiwan opened its first de facto embassy in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, under its own name. Elsewhere in Europe and North America, Taiwan’s international offices use the name Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices to avoid conflict with China, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory. 

The move expectedly angered China and led to Beijing deciding to downgrade its ties with the European country.  However, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the economic losses inflicted by China would be short-lived, as Lithuania is diversifying its supply chain to become less dependent on China. He also called on European nations to withstand China’s pressure and urged them to expand their influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Despite China’s retaliation and warnings of punitive diplomatic and trade measures, several EU countries have been forging closer ties with the self-governing island. Poland, which is also a member of the EU as well as Lithuania’s neighbour, recently pledged its support for Lithuania, with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki saying that he supports the action taken by Vilnius. 

Furthermore, representatives from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, among other countries, gathered in Taipei on December 2, to participate in the Open Parliament Forum, a summit that aimed to strengthen the island’s relationships with the democratic world. In addition, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia have donated hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 vaccines to the island.