Returning from a three-day visit to China, where he met President Xi Jinping, Emmanuel Macron is strongly criticized in the United States, both by the press and by elected officials. His fault: having publicly asked the Europeans not to be “follower” of the Americans, nor of China, on the situation of the island of Taiwan. “The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans should be followers” on the question of Taiwan “and adapt to the American rhythm and to a Chinese overreaction”, declares the French head of state, in this interview granted on Friday and published on Sunday in the daily The echoesduring his trip to China.
Asked even before the start of major Chinese military maneuvers around Taiwan on Saturday, Emmanuel Macron called on Europe to “wake up”: “our priority is not to adapt to the agenda of others in all regions of the world”. “Why should we go at the pace chosen by the others? At some point, we have to ask ourselves the question of our interest”, knowing that “we do not want to enter into a logic of block to block”, insists- he.
Pleading for “strategic autonomy” to be “Europe’s fight”, Emmanuel Macron warned in The echoes against “an acceleration of the conflagration of the duopoly” China – United States, at the risk of no longer having “the time nor the means to finance” this “strategic autonomy”. “We will become vassals when we can be the third pole if we have a few years to build it,” he argues. “The paradox would be that when we are putting in place the elements of a real European strategic autonomy, we are starting to follow American policy, by a kind of panic reflex,” he added.
“China is very enthusiastic about what he said”
Across the Atlantic, the words of the French president shocked many elected officials, but also part of the press. “His unnecessary comments will undermine American and Japanese deterrence against China in the Western Pacific, while encouraging American politicians who want to reduce American commitments in Europe to better resist China,” stings the wall street journal (WSJ) in an editorial titled: “Macron’s mistakes on Taiwan and Ukraine”. “Emmanuel Macron wants the United States to come to the rescue of Europe against Russian aggression, but apparently takes a vow of neutrality against Chinese aggression in the Pacific”, adds the editorial signed by the committee of the editorial staff of the WSJ, accusing the French president of a poor imitation of Charles de Gaulle.
In an analytical article, the New York Times for his part considered that Emmanuel Macron “undermines” American efforts to contain the influence of the authoritarian regime of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Marco Rubio, the former Republican rival of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, split a twitter video Saturday to ask the Europeans if Emmanuel Macron spoke on their behalf, while mocking a diplomatic reversal after “six hours of visit”. “We need to know if Macron is speaking for Macron, or if he is speaking for Europe. We need to know that quickly, because China is very enthusiastic about what he said,” he said. the chosen one.
The White House forced to react
After the words of the French president, much commented on across the Atlantic, the White House was forced to speak on Monday evening. John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, said the United States is “comfortable and [ont] full confidence in [leur] excellent bilateral relationship with France and in the relationship that President [Joe Biden] a with President Macron”, during a press briefing. “The French are really getting more involved in the Indo-Pacific region”, he added.
In Europe, the words of the Head of State also caused a reaction. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, Ipac), a collective of European and international elected officials who warn of Beijing’s expansionist ambitions, issued a scathing press releasesigned by dozens of parliamentarians who said they were “appalled”, “in particular his assertion that Europe should avoid being ‘caught up in conflicts that are not ours’ – a clear reference to the escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait”.
The specialist in Chinese foreign policy, Antoine Bondaz, judges him that Emmanuel Macron has made several errors both in substance and in form. “On returning from a state visit to China, Macron finds nothing better than to criticize the United States. This reinforces the strong doubts of our partners of an equidistance from Paris between Washington and Beijing”, analyzes the researcher from the Foundation for Strategic Research in a series of posts published on Twitter. If the interview with Emmanuel Macron was conducted before the start of the Chinese maneuvers around the island, Antoine Bondaz nevertheless deplores a “catastrophic timing” while “Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, but also economic, diplomatic and even informational , has never been so strong”.