China Touts ‘Partnership’ With France as Macron Charts Path Separate From U.S.

French President Emmanuel Macron renewed his call for “strategic autonomy” from the United States in the Indo-Pacific, forcing U.S. officials to downplay an apparent rift while China touts a “comprehensive strategic partner” with the oldest American ally.

“NATO has recognized the PRC’s stated ambitions and policies,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedanta Patel told reporters Monday. “They challenge our interests, they challenge our security, and they challenge our values. And allies, including France, have committed to work together to address these systemic challenges.”

Macron went to Beijing last week with the stated purpose of urging Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping to undercut Russia’s war in Ukraine, a trip that European Union leaders hoped would show that the EU “stands united, and our trans-Atlantic community remains also united,” as EU High Representative Josep Borrell put it. Yet Macron punctuated his visit with a renewal of his call for “strategic autonomy” from the U.S. — particularly concerning China and the tensions around Taiwan.

“The question Europeans need to answer … is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction,” Macron told reporters in his traveling party. (Read more from “China Touts ‘Partnership’ With France as Macron Charts Path Separate From U.S.” HERE)

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