Paris: Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, stated in an interview that Europe must not "follow" either the United States or China on Taiwan because doing so puts the bloc at risk of becoming involved in "crises that aren't ours."
As the US intensifies its confrontation with its closest rival and Beijing draws closer to Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, his remarks run the risk of upsetting Washington and highlight disagreements within the European Union regarding how to approach China.
On his way back from a three-day state visit to Beijing, Macron told Politico and other media outlets, "The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must be followers and adapt ourselves to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction.
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The French president declared that "we must be clear where our views overlap with the US, but whether it's about Ukraine, relations to China, or sanctions, we have a European strategy," citing his prized ideal of EU "strategic autonomy."
Europe "should not be caught up in a disordering of the world and crises that are not ours," he continued, adding, "We don't want to get into a bloc versus bloc logic." China has promised to annex Taiwan one day, possibly using force, because it sees the island as a democratic, independent part of its territory.
Beijing launched extensive military exercises around the island shortly after Macron left for France out of anger over Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-meeting wen's with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week. These exercises included simulated strikes on Taiwan's territory.
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On Friday, during a visit in which he was feted but more hawkish EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was largely kept at a distance, Macron discussed Taiwan with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The talks had been "dense and frank," according to his Elysee Palace office, and the French president was worried about "growing tensions in the region" that could result in "a terrible accident."
According to Antoine Bondaz of the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), Macron was "simply talking about the risk of Chinese 'overreaction,' forgetting that China wishes to change the status quo by taking over Taiwan in some way or another."
Adding that "this ambiguity... instills doubt in our like-minded partners," he questioned, "Why this desire never to recall we have an interest in maintaining stability."
According to Macron, the island of Taiwan is just one place where tensions between the US and China's duopoly could intensify. Europeans "won't have the time or the resources to finance our strategic autonomy and will become vassals, whereas we can build a third pole if we have a few years," if the conflict intensifies too quickly.
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In keeping with a tradition that dates back to the founding president of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle, who saw France as a balancing power between the Cold War blocs, Macron has long advocated for Europe's emergence as an independent geostrategic player.