Viewpoint.................................................................................................

Recently, the international situation is changing. On August 10, 2021, the news of the recall of our ambassador to Lithuania released on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China attracted the attention of the whole society.

On the 16th of this month, President Gitanas once again stated in an interview that he would never give in on the issue of disputes with China. He also said that he would defend the so-called democratic principles and values and hoped that China would reconsider its previous decision so as not to affect bilateral relations. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the Lithuanian president said the party would defend its principles and values. If Lithuania can, of course, China should and can firmly and resolutely defend its own interests, especially the core interests related to territorial sovereignty. The one-China principle is clear and unambiguous and brooks no distortion or tampering. It is reported that my country has suspended the "railway transportation plan" for the "China Railway Container" directly to Lithuania, which belongs to China Railway Group from August to September this year ". On August 18, China Railway Container Transportation Co., Ltd. issued a rumor-refuting message on the public number indicating that "everything is normal for China-Europe train transportation".

Many people in public opinion understand this incident that our country will break diplomatic relations with Lithuania. Of course, with the development of the situation, it is not impossible to break diplomatic relations, but at the legal level, the action of recalling the ambassador and asking the other country to recall the ambassador is two completely different concepts.

It is important to note that recalling ambassadors and asking the other country to recall ambassadors is not even a formal diplomatic move. According to article IX of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations), "the receiving State may at any time, without explanation, notify the sending State of a declaration that the head of the embassy or any member of the diplomatic staff of the embassy is persona non grata or that any other member of the staff of the embassy is inadmissible. In such a case, the sending State shall, as appropriate, recall the person or terminate his duties in the embassy. Any person may be declared undesirable or unacceptable before his or her arrival in the territory of the receiving State". As things stand, my country has only asked Lithuania to recall its ambassador and has not declared the Lithuanian ambassador "undesirable or unacceptable". Therefore, at present, our country's recall of ambassadors and requesting the other country to recall ambassadors are still at the level of stating the country's position, and have not risen to the point of changing diplomatic relations, let alone breaking off diplomatic relations.

When people hear about the severance of diplomatic relations, they are often intimidated, believing that the severance of diplomatic relations between the two countries will prohibit all exchanges between the two countries, including economic and trade exchanges and personnel exchanges, and even the nationals of the country in the territory will be expelled. But in fact, such a concept is not correct. This paper attempts to make a preliminary review of the concept of severing diplomatic relations and the impact after severing diplomatic relations, and gives suggestions to the enterprises and individuals who may be affected by the diplomatic events between China and Lithuania.

The severance of diplomatic relations, that is, the severance of diplomatic relations, is a state in which countries that have diplomatic relations with each other actively or passively sever all diplomatic contacts due to the occurrence of specific events. After the severance of diplomatic relations, persons enjoying diplomatic privileges and immunities shall be facilitated to leave the territory of the host State as soon as possible.

The severance of diplomatic relations means the severance of formal mutual political recognition and intergovernmental contacts between the two countries, but it does not necessarily mean that all ties between the two countries are interrupted. The existence and level of foreign offices between the two countries is only a manifestation of diplomatic posture and closeness of relations. From a legal point of view, Article 2 of the "Vienna Treaty on Consular Relations" clearly stipulates: "The severance of diplomatic relations does not of course sever consular relations". Of course, the severance of diplomatic relations will definitely have a major impact and impact on the economic, trade, and personnel exchanges between the two countries, and sometimes it will develop to the extent of stopping all economic, trade, cultural and other exchanges.

According to China's Ministry of Commerce, Lithuania's foreign exports are mainly concentrated in grain, wood, furniture, chemical products, etc. Russia (10.8 percent), Latvia (9 percent), Germany (8.2 percent) and Poland (7.2 percent) are the main export destination countries of Lithuania. Germany (13.3 per cent), Poland (12.6 per cent), Russia (10.3 per cent) and Latvia (7.8 per cent) were the main sources of Lithuanian imports. Germany (10.1 per cent), the United States (10.1 per cent), Poland (6.8 per cent), Sweden (6.8 per cent) and Latvia (6.4 per cent) were the main export countries of Lithuanian origin. China's exports to Lithuania are characterized by a wide range and variety, and are concentrated in the two major areas of consumer goods and industrial products. According to the July 2021 data of my country's General Administration of Customs, my country's total exports to Lithuania from January to June were 1042.528126 million U.S. dollars; total imports were 221.816385 million U.S. dollars. According to the June data, my country's exports to Lithuania increased by 22.7 percent over the same period last year. Imports fell by 4.4 percent over the same period last year.

It is worth noting that Shandong has carried out multi-faceted economic and trade cooperation with Lithuania in recent years. The delegation of the Cube has visited Shandong Province many times. Among them, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Lithuania successfully visited Shandong in 2016 and 2019 respectively. Three Lithuanian cities have developed friendly cooperation with cities in Shandong. Jinan City has established friendly and cooperative city relations with the Lithuanian cities of Bisonas and Utena. The cooperation between Klaipeda city and Qingdao city, and the cooperation between Utiana city, an industrial center in northern Lithuania, and Jining city. Cities regularly hold forums and conferences, organize cultural and other activities, promote cooperation projects, and send delegations to visit each other. In 2020, Lithuanian Bisonas Garden will be completed and officially opened to the public in the green space at the southeast corner of the intersection of Yuhan Road and Ma 'anshan Road in downtown Jinan. The outline form of traditional Lithuanian-style houses, the space of three-dimensional plane transformation, the natural landscape garden with international friendship and innovation and rich colors will become a new activity and play space for residents in the jurisdiction. Jinan is the first international sister city garden open to the public.

Although, in terms of results, if my country and Lithuania break diplomatic relations, Lithuania's economy will be greatly affected, which is also the inevitable result of the country's overall strength, but as far as enterprises and individuals are concerned, my country's enterprises and individuals engaged in Lithuanian-related economic and trade business The number is also much larger than the enterprises and individuals engaged in my country's related economic and trade business in Lithuania.

On the enterprise side, if a commercial contract has been signed, it should immediately reorganize the terms of the contract, focusing on examining whether the terms of force majeure, change of circumstances, application of special circumstances, etc. include provisions and treatment of political and sovereign risks. In addition, focus on the review of the contract performance period, involving cross-border transportation and other aspects of the content should be re-communicated with the carrier to confirm, did not buy the corresponding insurance, it is recommended to buy the relevant insurance immediately. If no commercial contract has been signed, it is recommended to reassess the risk and focus on reviewing whether the provisions on force majeure, change of circumstances, application of special circumstances, etc. in the written contract to be signed include provisions and treatment of political and sovereign risks, and if not, it is recommended to add relevant content. In addition, export enterprises in China should allow extra time to deal with the risk of rising logistics and transportation costs and payment delays.

Personally, for Chinese citizens who intend to go to Lithuania. If diplomatic relations are broken, the embassies and consulates of the host country will definitely be closed. Therefore, the processing of visas and other entry documents in China will have a great impact. It should be noted that the severance of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the closure of embassies and consulates does not mean that economic, trade and personnel exchanges between the two countries are completely banned. According to the actual situation, after the closure of a country's embassy or consulate, low-level institutions such as "agency office", "temporary agency office" and "representative office" may be retained to handle relevant economic, trade and personnel exchange procedures. It is recommended that Chinese citizens who intend to go to Lithuania always pay attention to relevant information, keep in touch with the Lithuanian Embassy in China in a timely manner, and determine the methods and channels for handling relevant procedures. If the application and renewal of the relevant visa is hindered, if conditions permit, you can choose to apply for a third country visa with a Lithuanian embassy or consulate in the territory, and go to a third country for visa application and other related procedures as an alternative.

For Lithuanian citizens in China, the validity of passport, visa and other entry documents and procedures should be the focus of attention. As of 18 August, our visa center in the Lithuanian capital was still functioning normally.

In my country's entry-exit management system, the "competent authority" for foreigners in China is my country's entry-exit management department, which is currently under the overall management of the National Immigration Administration under the management of the Ministry of Public Security. According to Article 4 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the the People's Republic of China, "the People's Republic of China embassies, consulates or other agencies abroad entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (hereinafter referred to as visa agencies abroad) are responsible for issuing entry visas for foreigners abroad. The exit and entry border inspection agencies are responsible for implementing exit and entry border inspection. The public security organs of local people's governments at or above the county level and their exit and entry administration agencies are responsible for the administration of the stay and residence of foreigners." Although the visa of foreigners in China can be renewed in China, and the work permit for foreigners in China does not have any restrictive agreement on the country, only the renewal of passport needs to be handled at the embassy of the host country, but if the visa, residence permit, residence permit and other foreigners' residence certificates cannot be renewed successfully, foreigners in China still need to go abroad to apply for visas, residence permits and other documents and permits, otherwise, they will face the punishment of "foreigners with serious illegal residence circumstances" stipulated in Article 78 of the the People's Republic of China Exit and Entry Administration Law, and even face the punishment of "leaving the country within a time limit" and "deportation" stipulated in Article 81 of the the People's Republic of China Exit and Entry Administration Law.

Generally speaking, there is still a lot of room for the incident in China and Lithuania, and whether it will develop to the worst should be determined according to the future developments. However, enterprises engaged in related foreign trade business should not take it lightly, make early preparations and take appropriate preventive measures in advance, so as not to suffer losses in the event of major changes in the future. as far as possible to avoid international arbitration, a dispute resolution method with high time cost and rights protection cost. For individuals with economic, trade and cultural exchanges between the neutral two countries, the implementation of the validity period of relevant entry and exit legal documents and the handling agencies of the procedures can not only save the time cost of major changes in the future, but also avoid fines and administrative penalties to a greater extent. And other adverse consequences.