The French President’s call for Europe to play a more independent role in relation to the USA and China has met with sharp criticism from some German politicians. The CDU foreign politician Norbert Röttgen wrote on TwitterEmmanuel Macron managed to turn his trip to Beijing into a PR coup for Chinese President Xi Jinping and a foreign policy disaster for Europe.
Macron seems to be “abandoned by all good spirits,” said Röttgen der Bild-Newspaper. An attack on Taiwan becomes more likely the more Xi believes Europe will remain neutral in such a conflict. “But we are not neutral,” said Röttgen. Possibly the economic interests of French companies are behind Macron’s behavior.
The party and parliamentary group leader of the European Conservatives, Manfred Weber (CSU), also criticized: “Anyone who stands up for freedom and democracy is not a follower.” Without a coordinated policy on China, the EU would weaken – and its member states would lose credibility “if, on the one hand, you demand sovereignty for Europe and then conclude every economic deal you can get with China,” said the EPP boss to the newspapers of the Bayern media group .
Macron had been in talks with the newspaper The echoes and the magazine Politico called for a separate European strategy on the Taiwan issue. “The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans will become followers on this issue and have to follow either the American style or a Chinese overreaction,” he was quoted as saying. Europe should not contribute to the escalation of the conflict, but pursue its own position as the third pole between the US and China. Macron had previously been to China and also met Xi there. China regards the democratically governed Taiwan as its territory.
Senator Rubio questions US involvement in Ukraine
US Senator Marco Rubio then posted a video on Twitter in which he said: If Europe doesn’t side with China or the US on the Taiwan issue, then maybe the US shouldn’t side with one on the Ukraine conflict either put side.
“It is a serious mistake for the West to allow itself to be divided when it comes to dealing with Beijing,” said SPD foreign policy expert Metin Hakverdi daily mirror. “That weakens our Western community of values.” If Macron wants to distance himself from the United States “in order to offer himself to the government in Beijing, that has no chance of success. It is doomed to fail,” said the SPD politician, who is the rapporteur for the United States and China in the European Committee. The “bitter lesson” of the Russian attack on Ukraine is: “We need a critical approach to authoritarian states, including China, not naïve love-serving.”
On Saturday, the People’s Republic of China began 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. Observers do not rule out that China will soon take measures to incorporate Taiwan.
A spokesman for the French embassy in Washington said Macron’s statements had been overinterpreted. “The US is our allies with whom we share our values,” he added. The leader of the left parliamentary group, Dietmar Bartsch, agreed to Macron’s initiative cautiously. “Europe’s strategic independence is a goal worth striving for if it is combined with the goal of becoming THE world peacemaker,” Bartsch said daily mirror.
