Berlin, Paris In view of the violent reaction to Emmanuel Macron’s statements on European China policy, the Élysée Palace felt the need to clarify: the French President had only repeated his positions on EU sovereignty, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. It is also clear: “The USA are our allies, we share common values.” China, on the other hand, is both “partner, competitor and strategic rival”.
In two interviews with the French business newspaper “Les Échos” and the English-language news portal “Politico”, Macron spoke about the fact that Europe must represent its own interests in the growing dispute between the USA and China. The EU has no interest in an escalation of the Taiwan conflict.
“The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans should be followers on this issue and adapt to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction,” Macron said. Europe does not have to align its priorities “to the agenda of others” – even in the case of “crises that are not ours”.
In Germany in particular, there were violent reactions to the interviews that were conducted on the return trip from Macron’s visit to China and published over the Easter days. With his statement on Taiwan, the president was “completely on the wrong track,” said Johannes Vogel, first parliamentary director of the FDP parliamentary group, to the Handelsblatt.
Europe must become more capable of acting in terms of foreign and security policy. “To understand this in the days of President Joe Biden as a greater distance to the USA would send exactly the wrong signal,” criticized Vogel.
“Macron is isolating in Europe”
The CDU foreign affairs expert Norbert Röttgen said on Deutschlandfunk: “Macron is isolating itself in Europe.” The French President is weakening the European Union and counteracting the hard line of EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen towards Beijing. Von der Leyen was in Beijing parallel to Macron, the trip was supposed to be a sign of European unity.
Von der Leyen was in Beijing parallel to Macron.
(Photo: IMAGO/Xinhua)
The French President’s visit to China was viewed with skepticism in Berlin, not least because of the large business delegation that accompanied him. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was in Beijing last fall.
In the US, Macron’s statements were met with critical comments in the media. Republican Senator Marco Rubio drew comparisons with American support for Europe in the Ukraine war: If Europe “doesn’t side with the United States and China on the Taiwan issue, maybe we shouldn’t side with Ukraine either,” Rubio said.
The White House, on the other hand, appeared more relaxed, at least to the outside world. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby referred to the good relationship between Macron and US President Joe Biden. Both countries would work together “on so many different issues”.
>> Read the comment here: Macron’s China statements are a faux pas – but they shouldn’t be overinterpreted either
The US government has confidence “in the excellent bilateral relations” with France, Kirby said. Biden received Macron for a state visit to Washington at the end of November.
Praise from China for Macron
The United States sees itself as the guarantor of Taiwan’s security. The communist leadership in Beijing regards the independently governed island state as part of the People’s Republic and is threatening to conquer it. Chinese military exercises in recent days have fueled concerns that the conflict could escalate.
China recently launched another military exercise in the sea around Taiwan.
(Photo: dpa)
Beijing has been trying for some time to drive a wedge between the US and Europe, but also to create a division within Europe. Representatives of the Chinese Foreign Ministry repeatedly portray the US as a ruthless hegemonic power and Europe as a willless appendage of Washington. Macron’s critics accuse him of playing into the hands of the Chinese leadership with his statements on Taiwan.
Chinese state media were full of praise for Macron. In a commentary by the nationalist state-run Global Times, it says: The demand for a strategically autonomous Europe that does not make itself a “vassal” of a great power is obviously a result of Macron’s “long-term observation and reflection”.
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The criticism of the French President is only trying to “distract people’s attention, to weaken the impact of his successful visit to China and to prevent the European self-reflection triggered by Macron from going deeper”.
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