After Macron’s dramatic statements…
German Foreign Minister Analina Baerbock said that Europe is united in its policy towards Beijing, after the statements he made to French President Emmanuel Macron sparked controversy and angered some European allies.
“Not only do we have a common position in terms of the European position, but if we had a common internal market, we wouldn’t have different positions in the EU’s largest trading partner,” Beerbock told reporters in the Chinese city of Tianjin.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron, on his plane back from a three-day visit to China, said that Europe should reduce its dependence on the US dollar extraterritorially, and avoid being drawn into a confrontation between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan.
Macron added, during remarks reported by the newspaper “Politico” and a number of French journalists, that “Europe must reduce its dependence on the United States and avoid being drawn into a confrontation between China and the United States over Taiwan,” stressing his theory about “strategic autonomy” for Europe, which is supposed to be To be led by France, to become a “third great power”, as he put it.
He continued, saying: “The great danger that Europe faces is that it is stuck in crises that are not our concern or our crises, which prevents it from building its strategic independence.”
Macron stressed that the Europeans should not be followers of the United States in crises that Europe has nothing to do with.
The French President also stressed that the alliance with the United States does not mean subordination to it, stressing his adherence to the statements he made about Taiwan and the independence of Europe recently.
And the French President said in a press conference in Amsterdam: “Being an ally does not mean being a follower… It does not mean that you no longer have the right to have your own thinking.”
He added, “France supports the status quo in Taiwan” and “supports the one-China policy and a peaceful settlement of the situation.” Macron stressed that “the position of France and the Europeans is the same with regard to Taiwan: we are with the status quo,” adding, “This policy is constant and has not changed.”
The French president had surprised many in the United States and Europe by calling on the European Union not to “subordinate” Washington or Beijing in the Taiwan issue. His statement was interpreted as distancing himself from the United States.
Macron criticized former US President Donald Trump, who launched a scathing attack on the French president. “Macron, who is a friend, grovels to China,” Trump said.
Commenting on what Trump said, Macron merely expressed his regret for what happened to the Republican billionaire, considering that he contributed to the “escalation” of the situation. He added, “When he was president, I did not comment on his words, so I will not do that today after he left the White House.”