China, Lithuania agree to advance relations

China-Lithuania relations are back on track after Lithuania withdrew support of the Tibet independence movement, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said Tuesday.

China-Lithuania relations hit rock bottom after Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite met with the Dalai Lama in September, 2013.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius last December on the sidelines of the third meeting between the heads of government of China and Central- and East-Europe countries in Serbia.

The Lithuanian side stated that it placed great importance on developing friendly and cooperative relations with China. Lithuania made it clear that it respected China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and adhered to the one-China policy.

Hua said the Lithuanian side recognized that Tibet was part of China and made it clear that it would never support any separatist forces or activities that advocated Tibet independence or harmed the integrity of China's territories.

"The Lithuanian side has said it would properly handle sensitive issues of this kind in the future," Hua said.

"China holds a positive view on the above mentioned stance of Lithuania," Hua said.

She said the two sides agreed to advance relations on the basis of mutual respect, equality and respect of each other's core interests and major concerns.