Europe must resist pressure to become ‘America’s followers,’ says Macron
13-04-2023, 11:08

Font size: [ A+ ] / [ A- ]

ABOARD COTAM UNITÉ (FRANCE’S AIR FORCE ONE) — Europe must reduce its dependency on the United States and avoid getting dragged into a confrontation between China and the U.S. over Taiwan, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview on his plane back from a three-day state visit to China.

Speaking with POLITICO and two French journalists after spending around six hours with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his trip, Macron emphasized his pet theory of “strategic autonomy” for Europe, presumably led by France, to become a “third superpower.”

He said “the great risk” Europe faces is that it “gets caught up in crises that are not ours, which prevents it from building its strategic autonomy,” while flying from Beijing to Guangzhou, in southern China, aboard COTAM Unité, France’s Air Force One.

Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party have enthusiastically endorsed Macron’s concept of strategic autonomy and Chinese officials constantly refer to it in their dealings with European countries. Party leaders and theorists in Beijing are convinced the West is in decline and China is on the ascendant and that weakening the transatlantic relationship will help accelerate this trend.

“The paradox would be that, overcome with panic, we believe we are just America’s followers,” Macron said in the interview. “The question Europeans need to answer … is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction,” he said.

Just hours after his flight left Guangzhou headed back to Paris, China launched large military exercises around the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory but the U.S. has promised to arm and defend. 

Those exercises were a response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen’s 10-day diplomatic tour of Central American countries that included a meeting with Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while she transited in California. People familiar with Macron’s thinking said he was happy Beijing had at least waited until he was out of Chinese airspace before launching the simulated “Taiwan encirclement” exercise. 

Beijing has repeatedly threatened to invade in recent years and has a policy of isolating the democratic island by forcing other countries to recognize it as part of “one China.”

 

Taiwan talks

 

Macron and Xi discussed Taiwan “intensely,” according to French officials accompanying the president, who appears to have taken a more conciliatory approach than the U.S. or even the European Union.

“Stability in the Taiwan Strait is of paramount importance,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who accompanied Macron for part of his visit, said she told Xi during their meeting in Beijing last Thursday. “The threat [of] the use of force to change the status quo is unacceptable.”

 

Xi responded by saying anyone who thought they could influence Beijing on Taiwan was deluded. 

Macron appears to agree with that assessment.

“Europeans cannot resolve the crisis in Ukraine; how can we credibly say on Taiwan, ‘watch out, if you do something wrong we will be there’? If you really want to increase tensions that’s the way to do it,” he said. 

“Europe is more willing to accept a world in which China becomes a regional hegemon,” said Yanmei Xie, a geopolitics analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics. “Some of its leaders even believe such a world order may be more advantageous to Europe.”

In his trilateral meeting with Macron and von der Leyen last Thursday in Beijing, Xi Jinping went off script on only two topics — Ukraine and Taiwan — according to someone who was present in the room.

“Xi was visibly annoyed for being held responsible for the Ukraine conflict and he downplayed his recent visit to Moscow,” this person said. “He was clearly enraged by the U.S. and very upset over Taiwan, by the Taiwanese president’s transit through the U.S. and [the fact that] foreign policy issues were being raised by Europeans.”

In this meeting, Macron and von der Leyen took similar lines on Taiwan, this person said. But Macron subsequently spent more than four hours with the Chinese leader, much of it with only translators present, and his tone was far more conciliatory than von der Leyen’s when speaking with journalists.

 

‘Vassals’ warning

 

Macron also argued that Europe had increased its dependency on the U.S. for weapons and energy and must now focus on boosting European defense industries. 

He also suggested Europe should reduce its dependence on the “extraterritoriality of the U.S. dollar,” a key policy objective of both Moscow and Beijing. 

“If the tensions between the two superpowers heat up … we won’t have the time nor the resources to finance our strategic autonomy and we will become vassals,” he said.

 

 

Russia, China, Iran and other countries have been hit by U.S. sanctions in recent years that are based on denying access to the dominant dollar-denominated global financial system. Some in Europe have complained about “weaponization” of the dollar by Washington, which forces European companies to give up business and cut ties with third countries or face crippling secondary sanctions.

While sitting in the stateroom of his A330 aircraft in a hoodie with the words “French Tech” emblazoned on the chest, Macron claimed to have already “won the ideological battle on strategic autonomy” for Europe.

He did not address the question of ongoing U.S. security guarantees for the Continent, which relies heavily on American defense assistance amid the first major land war in Europe since World War II.

As one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and the only nuclear power in the EU, France is in a unique position militarily. However, the country has contributed far less to the defense of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion than many other countries.

 

 

As is common in France and many other European countries, the French President’s office, known as the Elysée Palace, insisted on checking and “proofreading” all the president’s quotes to be published in this article as a condition of granting the interview. This violates POLITICO’s editorial standards and policy, but we agreed to the terms in order to speak directly with the French president. POLITICO insisted that it cannot deceive its readers and would not publish anything the president did not say. The quotes in this article were all actually said by the president, but some parts of the interview in which the president spoke even more frankly about Taiwan and Europe’s strategic autonomy were cut out by the Elysée.

 

POLITICO

Comments: 11
#11   Wilson
      
Ce jeu fait un clin d’œil à la Coupe du monde de football de la FIFA puisque le jeu est sorti
lors de la Coupe du Monde 2022 au Qatar. http://www.mjinfo.co.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=free&wr_id=1081036 De plus en plus d'utilisateurs se tournent vers leur smartphone
ou leur tablette pour faire quelques tours de machines
à sous ou jouer au blackjack. samwoon.co.kr Sur
une machine à sous, il est important que celle-ci propose des fonctionnalités telles que des
Wilds et des Scatters pour rajouter du piment à la partie.
Separesupere.com.br
27 November 2023 03:10
#10   Mari
      
Honing your reviewing skills and writing engaging campaigns
will translate to direct improvements in your revenue. www.hongwha21.net Once you are engaged in affiliate marketing business, it is advisable if
you have multiple streams of affiliate marketing income so that if one of those income streams vanished, it will not upset you the way losing your sole stream would.
www.link-pen.com Therefore, if you’re continuously
recommending the wrong products, they may end
up losing their trust. http://Ttlink.com/
27 November 2023 02:00
#9   Darryl
      
They also have the Thesis affiliate program.
check over here Webgains seems to be a network that
is missing off a lot of articles online and definitely deserves more mentions.
www.dongsanplan.Co.Kr This is
an online affiliate network dedicated mostly to small merchants such
as eBooks sellers and online courses learning websites.
http://ttlink.com/jvrdirk227/all
26 November 2023 03:55
#8   Britney
      
Leadbit is another of the several affiliate marketing networks that have
featured so far in our roundup. www.4job.co.kr It has no minimum referral,
and you get 100% control over the products you sell.
http://vk1b87o4zefwd.한국/ Unlike many other affiliate networks, the Shopify affiliate program offers
each partner a dedicated account manager.
a fantastic read
24 November 2023 12:52
#7   Hannelore
      
Aus Sorge, scheintot beigesetzt zu werden, verfügte sie, nach
ihrem Tod 20 Jahre lang in einem Doppelsarg mit Sichtfenstern oberirdisch aufgebahrt zu werden. www.mazafakas.com Der Deutsch-Balte
Gustave Rosenthal aus Estland wurde Offizier in der Kontinentalarmee,
musste aber nach einem Duell das Land verlassen und kehrte nach Kriegsende in seine Heimat
zurück. En.Youstone.com So führt
unter anderem ein Abschnitt des Elberadwegs durch das Biosphärenreservat Mittelelbe.
www.ssjplanet.com
22 November 2023 05:28
#6   Marisa
      
Nous exposons clairement les domaines dans lesquels nous intervenons
et vous donnons quelques contours que nous prenons en compte dans la constitution de la sélection de casinos comme Unibet
Casino que nous vous proposons. vérifiez ici Nous avons lu plusieurs my stake avis retrait positif
de la part de joueurs sur internet et il semblerait que le
bookmaker honore les paiements des gains. ce site La seconde offre
de Tortuga se destine aux gros joueurs ayant l’habitude de miser des montants importants.

www.yspmc.co.Kr
22 November 2023 04:25
#5   Sandy
      
Although the opportunities to provide goods and services in both local and
far-reaching markets is empowering, the competition can be significant.
click here to investigate Click here to learn more
about the Six Figures Mentor affiliate program. hsmagnet.co.kr There are literally hundreds of different product and service manufacturers, creators
and suppliers who are looking for active, professional affiliates who can market their products
and services for them. signals.pro
22 November 2023 03:31
#4   Ayurvedic medicine sex tablet
      
Discover the ancient secrets of Ayurvedic sex medicine, a natural and holistic approach to enhancing intimacy and sexual wellness.
https://www.ayurleafherbals.com/
27 July 2023 10:59
#3   back print t shirt
      
https://thegrayclothing.com/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/back-print-t-shirt/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/baggy-t-shirt/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/crew-neck-t-shirt/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/drop-shoulder-t-shirt/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/fashionable-t-shirt/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/half-sleeve-t-shirt/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/loose-t-shirt/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/oversized-t-shirt/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/round-collar-t-shirt/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/round-neck-t-shirt/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/trending-t-shirt/
https://thegrayclothing.com/product-category/unisex-t-shirt/
26 June 2023 12:27
#1   Ayurvedic medicine sleeping piles
      
In today's fast-paced world, a good night's sleep is often elusive. Stress, lifestyle choices, and various health conditions can disrupt our sleep patterns, leading to fatigue, irritability, and a decrease in overall well-being. While the market is flooded with [https://www.ayurleafherbals.com/product/ayurvedic-sleeping-pills-restlaam/ ayurvedic sleeping pills], many of them come with side effects and dependencies. Fortunately, Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine, offers natural remedies to promote deep and restful sleep. In this article, we will explore [https://www.ayurleafherbals.com/product/ayurvedic-sleeping-pills-restlaam/ ayurvedic sleeping pills] and alternative solutions to traditional sleeping pills.
Understanding of Restlaam [https://www.ayurleafherbals.com/product/ayurvedic-sleeping-pills-restlaam/
15 May 2023 11:29
Add Comments

Name:*
E-Mail:
  Geo Keyboard  
 

Dear reader, guardian.ge welcomes your comments. Please express your views on topic and be respectful of others.

bold italic underline strike | align left centered align right | Ensert smilies insert linkInsert protected URL Choice the color | hidden text insert quote Convert selected text from transliteration to Cyrillic alphabet Insert spoiler

Code: *