WASHINGTON (Reuters] – The United States will host a senior official next week in Lithuania to explore ways of enhancing economic cooperation. It is expected that the Baltic nation has been under pressure from China, who wants closer ties with Taiwan.

Jose Fernandez, the under secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment, will be visiting Vilnius, Sunday through Tuesday, and Brussels, Wednesday to Friday. There, he will talk with EU officials about efforts to combat “coercion”, the State Department stated in a statement.

In Vilnius, he will discuss bilateral economic cooperation, and U.S. “strong support for Lithuania in the face of political pressure and economic coercion from the People’s Republic of China,” the statement said.

According to the statement, Fernandez will meet with officials from U.S. Export Bank to discuss implementation of a memorandum to understand worth $600 million to increase opportunities for U.S. buyers and Lithuanian exporters in high-tech manufacturing and business services.

According to the statement, Fernandez will be in Brussels for discussions on transatlantic trade and investments through the U.S. EU Trade and Technology Council.

United States is trying to counter China’s growing influence in the world. It has backed Lithuania over Taiwan. Taiwan is an autonomous island that Beijing claims it owns.

China cut diplomatic ties to Lithuania. Multinationals were pressured by China to end ties after Taiwan set up a representation office in Vilnius called the Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania.

EU officials launched an attack on the World Trade Organization (WTO), accusing China for discriminatory trade practices towards EU member Lithuania, which they claim threatens the integrity and the single market.

On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry of Lithuania stated that they hope to resolve their trade dispute with China through negotiations between China (EU)

Taiwan’s Cabinet Office of Trade Negotiations stated late Friday that, in response to the WTO dispute, it “fully supports” both the EU (and Lithuania) and “opposes China’s inappropriate economic coercion”.

In a statement, it said that China will not use coercive economic or diplomatic measures and instead work together with EU and Lithuania to keep the international trading system rules-based.