Washington stressed “ironclad U.S. solidarity” with Lithuania to push back against Beijing’s backlash—diplomatically and economically—amid a souring bilateral relation. The Baltic nation’s regional and economic stability is facing challenges from the Chinese regime for allowing self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its runaway province, to open a de facto embassy in its capital Vilnius. The regime recalled its ambassador in August before downgrading the diplomatic relations and expelled Lithuania’s top representative to China in November. Meanwhile, Beijing imposed a trade embargo over Lithuanian exports and imports, and threatened multinationals to sever ties with Lithuania or face being shut out of the Chinese market. For example, the Asian economic power has told Continental AG, the German car parts giant, to stop using Lithuanian-made components. “The Secretary underscored ironclad U.S. solidarity with our NATO Ally and EU partner Lithuania,” the U.S. State Department said in a Dec. 21 statement. During a phone …