On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron, on a plane returning from China for a 3-day visit, stressed the need for Europe not to become dependent on the United States.
“Europe must resist pressure to turn it into a vassal of the United States,” Macron said, according to Politico.
He explained: “Europe should reduce its attachment to the United States. It must not be dragged into a confrontation between the United States and China over Taiwan.”
And he added, “The question that the Europeans have to answer. Is it in our interest to precipitate a crisis over Taiwan?”
To quickly answer in the negative, warning that the Europeans would turn into followers of US policy in this file.
Macron believes that European Union countries should reduce their dependence on the US dollar extraterritorially.
He reaffirmed the theory of “strategic autonomy” for Europe, which is supposed to be led by France, to become a “third great power”.
The American position on Macron’s visit to China
- Washington is keen to push its allied countries to take a “cautious” stance towards China, especially after Russia launched military operations in neighboring Ukraine, and accused Beijing of siding with Moscow, despite its reservations on the issue of military support.
- The American New York Times wrote that Macron’s visit to Beijing, despite the tension between Washington and Beijing, confirms once again that the allies do not necessarily look at things from the same angle.
- According to the newspaper, this visit explicitly said “no” to Washington’s economic approach, which seeks to economically surround China, after it has become the largest competitor to the United States.
- This visit created a kind of balance in the positions of Beijing and the West regarding the crisis in Ukraine, but without a major breakthrough on this issue.
- The American newspaper portrayed Macron’s progress in strengthening relations with China, as a denial of the Western trend seeking to preserve liberal institutions, because Western allies do not look at matters with the same eye.
- The New York Times considered what Macron issued on this visit as playing the “de Gaulle card”, referring to the approach of the late French general and president, Charles de Gaulle, who was keen to achieve the sovereignty of Paris and distance it from subordination to the United States.
