Lithuania builds world’s biggest ultra-fast laser factory amid China tensions

Amid tensions with China, a small European country is anchoring itself at the centre of the global semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) hardware supply chain as a laser powerhouse.

The latest sign of Lithuania’s growing footprint in the sector came last month, when laser maker Litilit launched a new factory in the capital, Vilnius. The company’s expansion unfolds as the Baltic nation of fewer than 3 million people navigates fraught ties with Beijing, which has targeted Lithuania with a slew of informal trade restrictions over its Taiwan stance.

In 2021, Lithuania emerged as a symbol of Taiwan’s expanding diplomatic ties in Europe by allowing the opening of a Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius, breaking the long-standing convention of using “Taipei” in the names of such offices.