Macron sparks outrage by saying Europe should not be “subordinate” in the US-China standoff | Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron has drawn a firestorm after he said Europe should not become a “vassal” and should avoid being drawn into any conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan.

The French president made the remarks in an interview on board his plane after a three-day state visit to China, where he was given a red-carpet welcome by President Xi Jinping, a display of celebration that unnerved some China-watchers in Europe.

speaking to reporters from Why Equus And PoliticoMacron said that Europe should be a third force in the global system, along with the United States and China. And while the comments reaffirmed Macron’s long-term goal of “strategic autonomy” for Europe, that is, avoiding military and economic dependencies, his comments on Taiwan sparked anger and concern on both sides of the Atlantic.

According to Les Echos, Macron said: “Do we [Europeans] Do you have an interest in speeding up the issue of Taiwan? No, the worst thing is to think that we Europeans should be henchmen on this subject and adjust to an American rhythm and Chinese overreaction.

It would, he added, be “a trap for Europe”, which has now developed more autonomy since the Covid pandemic, to get bogged down in crises “that are not ours”. If there is an acceleration of the struggle between the American and Chinese duopoly, “we will have neither the time nor the means to finance our strategic independence and we will become dependent, while we can become the third pole.” [in the world order] If only we had a few years to develop this.”

Macron said the need for Europe’s “strategic autonomy” was now widely accepted and there had been “such an acceleration of European power” as in recent years.

He also stressed the risks to Europe from the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the $369 billion (£300 billion) green subsidy scheme, and excessive reliance on the dollar. However, he said that Europe responded very quickly in coming up with “our European IRA”, citing plans to boost domestic green technology and production of critical raw materials.

He noted that his talks with Xi were helpful in countering “indolence on the part of China with regard to Russia.” Macron said that the aim of the dialogue with China is to “strengthen common approaches” on the war in Ukraine.

According to Politico, the presidential Elysee Palace vetted Macron’s quotes prior to publication as a condition of agreeing to the interview and insisted that lines where Macron spoke “more frankly” about Taiwan and European strategic independence be removed.

In a social media post linked to the Politico interview, US Republican Senator Marco Rubio said that if Macron speaks for all of Europe, the US should consider focusing its foreign policy on containing China and leaving Europe to deal with the war in Ukraine.

Rubio, who lost the Republican presidential nomination to Donald Trump in 2016, said he supported US aid to Ukraine but if Europe were to choose sides over Taiwan, a rethink would have to take place: “Maybe, we should basically say we’re going to focus on Taiwan and the threats posed by China,” he said. And you guys deal with Ukraine and Europe. Exploiting Politico’s disclaimer, Rubio said Macron had said “worse” things before the Elysee amendments.

The Wall Street Journal said editorial That the “unhelpful comments” of the French president would undermine American and Japanese deterrence against China in the western Pacific, while emboldening American politicians who wanted to reduce American commitments in Europe. “If President Biden is awake, he should call Mr. Macron and ask him if he is trying to get Donald Trump re-elected,” the newspaper wrote.

One member of the European Parliament stressed that the French leader did not talk about the European Union. Macron says, ‘Europe must’ and ‘We Europeans’, but he speaks for France, he can’t really speak for Europe.

“Perhaps it is a bit surprising to assert strategic autonomy now in April 2023, because the world has changed in the past 14 months,” the person said, noting that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has called into question Europe’s ability to become a third power in the global system. Macron suggests.

Norbert Röttgen, a centre-right German parliamentarian and member and former chair of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, said Macron had turned his trip to China into “a PR coup for Xi and a foreign policy disaster” for Europe. “With his idea of ​​sovereignty, which he defines in delimitation rather than in partnership with the United States, he is increasingly isolating himself in Europe.”

Reinhard Peticofer, a member of the European Parliament who heads China’s delegation to the European Parliament, called Macron’s visit to China a “total disaster”. The German Green MP, who was sanctioned by Beijing for his stance on human rights in Xinjiang, also said that Macron’s “dream” of the EU’s strategic independence and transformation into a “third great power” was “far from pale”. He added that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had shown a “better alternative”.

Von der Leyen recently said the EU needs to re-evaluate its relations with the Chinese government which has fostered “politics of disinformation and economic and trade coercion”.

While Macron was applauded in Brussels for inviting von der Leyen to join him in Beijing, the reality of the visit only highlighted China’s attempts to divide and rule. While China rolled out the red carpet for Macron with a state banquet and military parade, von der Leyen received a cold reception and was left out of the celebration.

Macron’s supporters said the interview contained little that was new to him or to French foreign policy since Charles de Gaulle. Gerard Araud, the former French ambassador to Washington and the United Nations, said Macron had started an important debate at a time when “there is a temptation to integrate into a ‘Western bloc’ under American guidance that is certain to be on the side of ‘the good.'” He added, “It would be a mistake to give in to this.” .

The row recalls previous ones such as when Macron declared in 2019 that NATO was suffering from “brain death”, or when he angered Central and Eastern European allies last year by saying Russia would need security guarantees when the time came to negotiate a peace settlement with Ukraine.

Mujtaba Rahman, head of Europe at the research firm Eurasia Group, said the timing of Macron’s latest comments was poor. “Making these statements at a time when Chinese military exercises encircled Taiwan — and after his state visit to China — was a mistake. It will be interpreted as appeasement of Beijing and a green light for Chinese aggression.”

Rehman added that meeting Macron was seen as a farewell gift to Xi — “another doomed (after Putin) attempt to talk to an autocrat” — and suggested the French leader may have been trying to boost France’s poll ratings by emulating de Gaulle. . “Most likely, Macron was just Macron, thinking about the future in an interesting way but not gauging the direct political impact of his words,” Rahman said.