| Welcome to the weekend issue of Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. Join us on Saturdays for deeper dives from our bureaus across Europe. VILNIUS — As Europe tussles over how to approach China these days, Lithuania has pushed ahead with one of the more provocative approaches by pursuing closer ties to Taiwan. That stance has made it a target for Beijing — which downgraded diplomatic ties — as well as opposition politicians who accuse Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis of recklessly burning business bridges with Beijing. Former Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said last year that Lithuania's foreign policy — carefully forged over the past 30 years — has been "completely destroyed'' after Taiwan was allowed to open an office in Vilnius. He questioned why the government is creating additional tensions with war raging on its borders.  Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's foreign minister Photographer: Valeria Mongelli/Bloomberg All the major opposition parties spent months signaling that policies would switch back to business as usual following the October 2024 general election. That stance appears to have backfired — particularly after the furor over China's ambassador to France casting doubt on the independence of former Soviet states. "We're not post-soviet," Landsbergis tweeted. "We're never-soviet." The promised reversal on Taiwan may also now be in question. Andrius Mazuronis, deputy parliamentary speaker and chairman of the opposition Labor Party, said this week that Beijing's ambiguous position regarding Russia's war in Ukraine and the ambassador's interview has "taught the opposition a lesson." "I must admit that our previous call to return to business as usual with China was wrong," Mazuronis said on national radio. "We made a mistake that must be corrected. Going back to business as usual with China would be naive and short-sighted." A few opposition parties are sticking to government's official line: Now that Beijing has clarified its stance, let's move on. China is still trying to clean up its diplomat's loose talk. President Xi Jinping made a long-sought phone call to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy. But the damage won't be easily reversed, with all three Baltic states warning Beijing cannot be trusted as a mediator for peace in Ukraine. Landsbergis warned against a repeat of "geopolitical blindness," as in a once-failed strategy with Moscow. — Milda Seputyte, Vilnius reporter, with Ott Tammik in Tallinn Editor's note: The Brussels Edition will take a break on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. The next issue will be published on Tuesday, May 2. | 
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