French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe should not be a “follower” of either the US or China on Taiwan, as it risks dragging the EU into “crises that are not ours.”
Emmanuel Macron traveled to China, where he was received especially friendly by Xi Jinping. After the visit, the French president said in a series of interviews that his task was to find a place for France and the EU as the third pole of power in the new international system on an equal footing with the US and China, not to be someone’s “vassals” and not participate in conflicts that are not theirs. Somehow it doesn’t really fit into the unity of the West, does it?
greeted in a special way
Macron flew to Beijing with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
But Ursula von der Leyen gave a rather tough press conference before the visit, where she touched on the issue of Taiwan and the need to withdraw all Russian troops from Ukraine as a prerequisite for peace and negotiations.
And the French President from the beginning took a position on reconciliation with expressive economic connotations. And if at the beginning of the visit it seemed that the French president and the European commissioner were playing good and bad police to get maximum concessions from China, soon the visit turned into evidence of political divisions.
Although Xi had a tripartite meeting with Macron and von der Leyen, the program of the French president’s state visit was much richer, eventful and marked by moments of personal commitment from the Chinese leader.
EPA
The split between the EU and the US
The old idea of ”strategic autonomy” of the EU and France as the main proponent of EU foreign policy subordination has received a new lease of life from China.
Now, according to the French President, it should be “the main struggle of the EU.”
Already on the plane back to Paris, the French president gave several interviews in which he returned to the idea of ”strategic autonomy”, and in fact – the EU’s foreign policy and security independence from the United States.
Macron tried to separate the Ukrainian and Taiwanese directions of his policy, maintaining a tough discourse on the Russian Federation, but made overtures to China’s diplomatic involvement.
Overall, Macron failed to gain any concessions from China. On the other hand, Chinese propaganda had the opportunity to assert that the EU’s first country publicly supports China’s peace initiatives in Ukraine and possibly cooperates with them.
And in addition, Macron made a big gift to Beijing by signing a declaration on the development of cooperation in the military field. In Paris, they were convinced that this agreement did not have any special burden – the parties agreed to respect the “law of the sea” and nothing else.
However, the symbolic importance of this declaration cannot be overestimated.
As the United States, France’s NATO ally, prepares to defend Taiwan in the event of Chinese aggression, Macron agrees to deepen cooperation between France’s Asia-Pacific Naval Forces Command and China’s People’s Liberation Army in the South China Sea, one of the key areas for expanding China’s geopolitical ambitions.
This appears to be an overt demarche by Paris and a declaration of its non-interference in a potential conflict with Taiwan.
Importance for Ukraine
For Ukraine, such a policy of France to reduce dependence on the United States carries many hidden dangers, experts are sure. The possible consequences of breaking the transatlantic alliance for Ukraine’s political and military support are very dangerous. Pressure on Ukraine is also likely to increase on the issue of negotiations with the Russian Federation at the wrong time and on less than favorable terms.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.