President Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Beijing was supposed to demonstrate European unity in the face of China and convince President Xi Jinping to help curb Russian aggression against Ukraine, but it will have above all annoyed France’s allies. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Thursday 13 April deplored the attitude “short-sighted” Europeans on China, in a clear allusion to Emmanuel Macron’s visit.
“They are looking, short-sighted, to China so they can sell European products at enormous geopolitical cost, increasing our dependence on China rather than reducing it”he said during a speech in Washington. “You cannot protect Ukraine today and tomorrow by saying that Taiwan is none of your business”he added to the Atlantic Council research center, paraphrasing the French president without naming him. “I believe, God forbid, that if Ukraine falls, if Ukraine is conquered, the next day China might attack – can attack – Taiwan”he said.
The Polish leader also mocked the Europeans’ concept of strategic autonomy, again in an allusion to Mr Macron’s statements. “European autonomy, that’s chic, isn’t it? But that means changing the European center of gravity towards China and severing ties with the United States.he said. “I can’t really understand the concept of strategic autonomy if that means, de facto, shooting yourself in the foot”he said, speaking of a “dramatic error”.
The expression considered “unhappy” in Germany
The French president sparked a wave of misunderstanding in the United States and Europe by calling on the European Union not to be “follower” from Washington or Beijing on the question of Taiwan. “The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans should be followers” on the issue of Taiwan “and adapt to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction”he said in an interview with the American site Politico and the French economic daily The echoes published on Sunday.
On Wednesday, Mr. Macron repeated that“to be an ally (the United States) does not mean being a vassal”. “It is not because we are allies (…) that we no longer have the right to think for ourselves”, he added at a press conference in Amsterdam. A new sentence that the German Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius, visiting Mali, judged “unhappy”. “We have never been in danger of being or becoming a vassal of the United States”commented Mr. Pistorius.
“We must in future be able to speak as a European Union in terms of foreign policy, and also in terms of security policy” added Mr Pistorius, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). However “finding our own positions in agreement with (…) the United States is our duty”he said. “It does not help us to be divided or let ourselves be divided on different positions. In the end, it only helps Chinese foreign policy.”, concluded Boris Pistorius. This close friend of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is the first member of the German government to speak publicly about the remarks of the French head of state which have caused trouble among France’s allies.
In its wake, the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, assured Thursday that European states were united in their policy vis-à-vis Beijing. “We don’t just have a common position, but when we share a common market, we cannot have different positions vis-à-vis the EU’s biggest trading partner”said M.me Baerbock at a press briefing in Tianjin, where the minister arrived on Thursday for her first trip to China.
The European Union disagrees
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis was particularly scathing. “I propose that we recognize the benefits and the need for transatlantic unity [au lieu de] beg from the dictators that they help to ensure peace in Europe”he reacted on Twitter. Eastern European countries have traditionally attached themselves to a close relationship with Washington, which they see as their main guarantee of security in the face of the Russian threat. Prime Minister Mark Rutte refrained from criticizing his guest but stressed that the United States was ” indispensable ” and “without their support, it would have been inconceivable that Ukraine could resist” to Russia.
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In Brussels, there are regrets that Mr Macron’s comments overshadowed efforts by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to coordinate the EU’s position on China. Before accompanying Mr. Macron during his visit to Beijing, Mr.me von der Leyen gave a well-received speech on the need for the EU to “reduce risk” created by its dependence on China, without however “decouple” of its huge market.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, seemed to come to the aid of the French President. “There is a great attachment to the alliance with the United States and Emmanuel Macron said nothing else”he pointed out. “But would this alliance imply that we systematically blindly follow the position of the United States on all subjects? No “he hammered.