China and Lithuania forge stronger ties
Lithuania’s Prime Minister stated his country is willing to participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the Central and Eastern European (CEE, 16 total countries) and the China cooperation mechanism, ChinaAg Comments.
In early 2017, Vilkyskiu Pienine became the first Lithuanian company to supply dairy products to China when it exported 20 MTs of mozzarella.
In August 2016, China approved 16 Lithuanian companies to export their dairy products to the mainland.
In July 2015, government officials from China and Lithuania discussed agricultural trade. The Chinese lead representative expressed interest in potential Lithuanian-Chinese joint ventures and noted that Lithuanian companies should group together if they hope to successfully supply the mainland market. At the time, Lithuanian agricultural exports to China were minimal but the Baltic country did supply frozen blueberries, whey powder, wheat starch and alcoholic beverages, as well as rice and corn products.
In August 2014, Russia banned agricultural imports, including fresh produce, from various Western countries over sanctions relating to the Ukraine crisis.
In the autumn of 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, a strategic initiative to boost the economic development and trade of countries lying along the South China Sea, Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, and Red Sea, as well as overland in Central Asia and Europe.
Launched in 2012, Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (aka the 16+1 mechanism) serves to promote economic trade between participating European countries and China. In 2012, China-CEE leaders met in Warsaw, followed by Bucharest (2013) and Belgrade (2014).
Source: http://www.chinaag.org/2017/04/27/china-and-lithuania-forge-stronger-ties/
