The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, recommended this Sunday to Europe that mark its own “autonomy strategy”, outside the pattern set by the United States and China, to avoid being dragged down by the tensions between the two powers.
“As the conflict between this duopoly accelerates, we will not have the time or means to finance our strategic autonomy and we will become vassals”warned the French president in an interview with the newspaper Les Echoes published on his return from his visit to China
“The worst that can happen is that the Europeans end up believing that they have to become followers and adapt to the American rhythm and to the exaggerated reactions of China,” he said.
Macron made this consideration while tensions are reigniting between the United States, China and Taiwan, right now the scene of a Chinese military drill on a blockade of the island, in retaliation for the visit of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing Wen to the United States.
“Why must we go at the pace chosen by others? At some point, we must ask ourselves what our own interests are”raised the president, collected the news agency Europa Press.
The French leader explained that Europe could end up in a “pincer” between the United States and China if this conflict worsens.
Instead, Macron opted to turn Europe into an international “third pole”, although he warned that its construction will take time that perhaps it could not have.
“Strategic autonomy must be Europe’s fight. We do not want to depend on others on critical issues, because the day we run out of room for maneuver on issues such as energy, defense, social networks or artificial intelligence, the day If we run out of the necessary structure on those issues, we will be left out of the rhythm of the story,” he said.
Regarding what was discussed with the Chinese president, Macron pointed out that Xi spoke about “the European security architecture” but that it cannot exist “as long as there are countries in Europe that are invaded or conflicts are frozen.”
According to the president, “the Ukrainian conflict increases the demand for military equipment.”
However, he stressed that “the European defense industry does not meet all the needs (…), and some countries resort to American or Asian suppliers,” the Sputnik news agency quoted.
For this reason, the French leader called for greater European independence in the field of the defense industry, stressing that European countries should not depend on other states in “critical issues.”
Macron’s visit to China
Last Wednesday, Macron and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, arrived in China for a meeting with Xi.
One of the key topics of the consultations was the Ukraine crisis.
Macron and Xi pledged on that occasion to “support any effort in favor of a return to peace in Ukraine,” in a joint statement issued at the end of an official trip by the French president to the Asian country.
In addition, agreed to increase coordination and cooperation to “safeguard” the effectiveness of arms controls and non-proliferation treaties, as well as moving towards disarmament and the “peaceful use of nuclear energy”, according to the document shared by the French Presidency.
The text, however, did not mention Russia at any time or establish a roadmap for Ukraine, beyond stating that the conflict must comply with International Law and the United Nations Charter and reinforce support for “any effort in favor of of a return to peace”.