Why has Lithuania chosen to forge closer ties with Taiwan while assuming the role of a vocal criticiser of China? Research on small-state foreign policy has highlighted weaknesses as the primary determinant of small-state behaviour. This thesis applies a newly developed theory of status-seeking to gain a deeper understanding of Lithuania’s foreign policy decisions through the concept of status. Based on statements of the foreign policy elite and interviews with civil servants of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the thesis concludes that Lithuania’s policy on China and Taiwan can be understood as a means to seek status as a good power. The thesis suggests that Lithuania’s stance on China and Taiwan has allowed the small Baltic nation to establish a distinctive position and emulate the behaviour of status superiors. Although these findings are limited to Lithuania, they are not trivial because they expand the understanding of an overlooked aspect of international relations, namely status as a motivational factor in small states’ foreign affairs. This thesis’s empirical contribution helps to understand small states’ foreign policy choices. It adds to the nascent literature on small states’ status-seeking, which argues that smaller states are more status concerned than international relations scholars have commonly acknowledged.