Europe as the third “superpower”
Macron does not want to follow the US on the Taiwan question
4/9/2023, 7:28 p.m
Tensions between China and Taiwan continue to escalate – and with them also between the People’s Republic and the USA. Where Europe stands in this calculation is still unclear. According to the will of the French President, the EU should take a third, independent direction – independent of the two superpowers.
According to French President Emmanuel Macron, Europe should pursue its own strategy in the case of Taiwan. “The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans would become followers on this issue and either have to follow the American style or a Chinese overreaction,” Politico magazine quoted him as saying. Europe should not contribute to the escalation of the conflict but pursue its own position as the third “superpower” between the US and China, Macron said in an interview with Politico and French newspaper Les Echos during his three-day visit to China this week .
According to the French President, Europe should reduce its dependence on the United States. The big risk is that Europe will be involved in “crises that are not ours,” Macron said. This prevents Europe from expanding its strategic autonomy. A conflict with Taiwan would not be in Europe’s interests.
During his multi-day state visit to China, Macron said he spoke “at length” with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Taiwan. At the same time, the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was in the People’s Republic and urged restraint. But Macron seems to question what influence Europe could have on a conflict between China and Taiwan. “The Europeans cannot solve the crisis in Ukraine; how can we credibly say to Taiwan: ‘Be careful, if you do something wrong, we will be there’?” Macron said in an interview with “Politico”. “If you want to increase tension, do it like this.”
China regards the democratically governed Taiwan as its territory. On Saturday, China launched a military exercise around the island in response to a visit to the United States by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. The status of Taiwan is one of the main points of contention between the US and China. Like many other countries, the USA does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan out of consideration for the People’s Republic of China. However, the USA supports the country with military equipment and is its most important supplier of armaments.