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The president of Lithuania suggested an error was made in the name of the Taiwanese office.
In July of last year, the tiny European state ofLithuania announced the opening of a Taiwanese representative office.
The statement may have been unremarkable to the casual observer.
It was an intolerable declaration of diplomatic hostility to China.
It was the first time a European Union member state had allowed Taiwan to use its own name for a foreign outpost.
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Taiwan was allowed to open a embassy in Europe for 18 years.
Even though Taiwan has been seen as a self-governed democratic state, China still claims it as part of its territory.
Most countries do not have official relations with Taiwan, but they do have a representative office in Taipei.
Until Lithuania dared to be different, that was the status quo in Europe.
China condemned this, but it was praised as a champion of democracy. In the media, Lithuania was seen as the David to China's Goliath.
China restricted trade with Lithuania while the Baltic state remained defiant.
In comments welcomed by China, the president ofLithuania expressed doubts about the wisdom of his country's principled stand.
The opening of the Taiwanese office was not a mistake according to Mr Nauseda.
China's foreign ministry said that it was the right step to acknowledge a mistake, but that excuses did not help solve the problem.
The president ofLithuania said that the problem was the name and now they have to deal with the consequences.
The consequences have started to take their toll on companies fromLithuania and other European countries that source parts there.
The EU says it has verified reports of imports being blocked at customs, despite China denying ordering a trade boycott. The European Commission will file a complaint with the WTO if diplomacy fails.
Unless Lithuania bends to China's will, the resolution looks unlikely.
The Lithuanian government and Mr Nauseda have held their nerve so far. They say they have the right to forge closer ties with Taiwan.
Even so, Mr Nauseda's suggestion of a "mistake" jarred with the consistent messaging of the country. He asked Gabriel Landsbergis to de-escalate the situation.
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The president was consulted on the naming of the Taiwanese office.
The president and the prime minister of the coalition government are not on the same page.
Mr Nauseda defeated Ms Simonyte in the presidential election, but the pair were at odds over Covid-19 measures.
The president's intervention should be viewed through the lens of internal politics, not foreign policy, as stated by Dovile Sakaliene, an MP for Lithuania's Social Democratic Party.
She said that it's normal for democracies to have tensions between the power branches.
This was a domestic disagreement that was very visible. The point is that nobody in Lithuania is thinking about the boots of China.
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Dovile Sakaliene is a person.
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There is a Lithuanian MP.
When asked about the president's criticism, Mr Landsbergis said he had co-ordinated it with Mr Nauseda.
The foreign ministry in Vilnius told the British Broadcasting Corporation that they stand by their decision to welcome the opening of the Taiwanese representative office.
The support for democracy and human rights as universal values was part of the coalition agreement.
In 1991, Lithuania became the first state to declare independence from the Soviet Union.
In recent years,Lithuania has been one of Europe's most ardent critics of China, on issues ranging from the treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang to Hong Kong's freedoms.
The history influenced Taiwan's decision, said Andrius Kubilius.
He said that the country stood for moral principles and was considered a small but brave country. I don't think we have broken any diplomatic rules. China has a problem with Chinese sensitivity on those issues.
Lithuania quit China's 17+1 investment forum because of disappointing economic benefits.
The Baltic state had less to lose than some of its European allies, because China accounts for just 1% of its exports, according to an expert on EU-Taiwan relations.
The cost of taking the higher moral ground forLithuania is lower than it would be for other countries, according to him. That matters. The promise of making up for lost trade is what matters.
Taiwan, a major economic player in its own right that he sees as a reliable substitute market for Lithuanian products, has shown that promise.
The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp bought 20,000 bottles of rum that had been bound for China.
China remains steadfast in its commitment to reunification with Taiwan.
The Global Times newspaper in China made that clear in an editorial. There will be no chance for trivial forces likeLithuania to lead the Western world to change the one-China principle.
Lithuania was a mouse, or even a flea, under the feet of a fighting elephant.
The elephant stomped its feet angrily in the months since, but Mr Kubilisus said he saw no reason to be intimidated.
He said that by threatening them, it created solidarity with them.
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The US will stand up for its friends in Taiwan.
