"We urge the Lithuanian side to immediately put right its mistake and not to underestimate the Chinese people's strong resolve, will and capability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity," China's foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
China views self-ruled and democratically governed Taiwan as its territory with no right to the trappings of a state and has stepped up pressure on countries to downgrade or sever their relations with the island, even non-official ones. Wang Yiwei, director of the institute of international affairs at Renmin University of China in Beijing, told state-run publication the Global Times China's stern move "aims to make Lithuania feel pain".
