On September 14, 1991, China and Lithuania established diplomatic relations. Since then, the overall development of bilateral relations has been smooth. The leaders of the two countries have maintained communication, and high-ranking officials have exchanged visits on multiple occasions. In June 2002, President Jiang Zeming paid a state visit to Lithuania. In April 2017, Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, paid a visit to Lithuania. Several Lithuanian presidents, prime ministers, and speakers of parliament have paid visits to China. In November 2021, Lithuania approved the establishment of the so-called “Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania” by the Taiwan authorities. In response, China announced that it would downgrade its diplomatic relations with Lithuania to the chargé d'affaires level.

China and Lithuania have signed multiple cooperation agreements between governments and departments, covering areas such as economy and trade, science and technology, culture and transportation. The two governments have also established a committee for economic and trade cooperation. In November 2017, China and Lithuania signed a Memorandum of Understanding on jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative. In May 2018, the 3rd China-Central and Eastern European Countries Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture was held in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The two countries maintain exchanges in the fields of people-to-people bonds and local cooperation. In 2011, the Confucius Institute in Lithuania was established at Vilnius University. The Chinese Wushu Association has established a cooperation mechanism with the martial arts federations of the three Baltic countries, including Lithuania. There are currently five pairs of sister cities between the two countries, namely Xiamen and Kaunas, Qingdao and Klaipeda, Guangzhou and Vilnius, Ningbo and Alytus, and Shenzhen and Vilnius.