‘An ally not a vassal’: How Emmanuel Macron’s remarks on Taiwan have exposed the divide in Europe

Emmanuel Macron’s popularity has taken a hit in France and now he’s taking heat in other parts of Europe. At home, protests have been erupting over the controversial pension reforms, which the French president pushed through. Now, his remarks on Taiwan during a recent visit to China have not gone down well in Europe. But through it all, he remains defiant.

What did Marcon say? Why have his remarks upset other European leaders? And is China having the last laugh? We take a look.

Macron’s controversial remarks

Macron visited China last week and accompanying him was Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission. They flew into Beijing and met Chinese president Xi Jinping. They were there to send a message of unity even as China sought to exploit possible cracks in Europe’s alliance, reports the BBC.

It is exactly what happened. The French president’s comments on Taiwan have put Europe in a spot.

In an interview on his plane after a three-day state visit to China, where he spoke to reporters of Les Echos and Politico, Macron said that Europe must avoid being drawn into any conflict between the US and China over Taiwan. He said that the Continent should not become a “vassal”.

“Do we [Europeans] have an interest in speeding up on the subject of Taiwan? No. The worst of things would be to think that we Europeans must be followers on this subject and adapt ourselves to an American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction,” Macron said, according to Les Echos.

The French leader emphasised the need for “strategic autonomy” for Europe, presumably led by France, to become a “third superpower”, reports Politico. He said that Europe faces the “great risk” of getting “caught up in crises that are not ours, which prevents it from building its strategic autonomy”.

“If the tensions between the two superpowers [the US and China] heat up … we won’t have the time nor the resources to finance our strategic autonomy and we will become vassals,” he said.

Soon after, Macron sparked a censorship row by forcing the Politico website to delete “frank” comments about Taiwan and Europe’s strategic autonomy. The outlet agreed to let his team review comments before publication.

Sticking to his stance

But Macron has no regrets. On Wednesday, during a visit to the Netherlands, he reiterated his controversial comments on Taiwan, saying that being a US ally did not mean being a “vassal”.

“Being an ally does not mean being a vassal… doesn’t mean that we don’t have the right to think for ourselves,” Macron told a press conference in Amsterdam with Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.

Macron said French and European policy on Taiwan “has not changed” despite the furore over his remarks. “France is for the status quo in Taiwan” and a “peaceful resolution to the situation,” he added.

The fallout

Macron’s stance has exposed the divide in Europe.

A member of the European Parliament (MEP) said that the French president did not speak for the European Union. Macron says “we Europeans” but he speaks for France, he can’t really speak for Europe, according to a report in The Guardian.

The newspaper quoted Norbert Röttgen, a German centre-right MP who is a member and former chair of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, as saying that Macron had turned his China visit into “a PR coup for Xi and a foreign policy disaster” for Europe. “With his idea of sovereignty, which he defines in demarcation rather than partnership with the USA, he is increasingly isolating himself in Europe.”

Allies in Europe’s eastern half were particularly dismayed. Many countries in that region see ties with the United States as sacrosanct, particularly given Washington’s key role in helping Ukraine defend against Russia’s invasion.

“Instead of building strategic autonomy from the United States, I propose a strategic partnership with the United States,” Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Tuesday before he headed to the US for a three-day visit.

“The return of geopolitics means that we have to see more clearly who is our ally and who is not. Strong transatlantic relations between Europe and the US are the foundation of our security,” Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky told Reuters. “Europe must invest more in its own security, but I do not see that as an obstacle or a limit for cooperation with the USA,” he said via a spokesman.

Diplomats from Europe did not mince their words while criticising Macron. “We, as the EU, should be united. Unfortunately, this visit and French remarks following it are not helpful,” a diplomat from an Easter European nation told Politico, requesting anonymity.

A senior diplomat from Central and Eastern Europe, speaking on condition of anonymity echoed similar views. “President Macron is not speaking for Europe or the European Union. He is unwittingly helping Beijing to dismantle transatlantic unity at the time of war in Europe, when it is most needed.”

A divided Europe

However, some governments in the continent are more sympathetic toward Macron’s push toward “strategic autonomy”, making Europe less dependent on others when it comes to defence, technology and supplies of critical raw materials, reports Reuters.

Germany, Italy and Spain have in the past backed strong EU engagement with China.

“I think we cannot just turn our back to China and try to ignore it. It is a key trading partner, a very large player,” Spanish economy minister Nadia Calvino said in a discussion hosted by the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington. “We have a shared interest, I think, in ensuring that they engage constructively to put an end to the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and to avoid global market fragmentation, which is going to be lose-lose for everyone.”

But those who have supported Macron’s agenda also criticised the timing of the comments. Nils Schmid, a foreign policy expert and member of parliament for German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, said that both the leaders had long favoured the idea of “European sovereignty”.

“The problematic thing about Macron’s visit is that he deliberately pulled out the European card and took … von der Leyen with him. But then he allowed her to be put in the second row. This has destroyed the hoped-for impetus for a common European policy on China,” he said, according to Reuters. “China is playing the card of dividing Europe. We must prevent that.”

Now Germany has stepped into a damage control mode. Its foreign minister is on a visit to China on Thursday aiming to reassert a common European Union policy toward Beijing.

After the brouhaha over Macron’s stand, the stakes of the inaugural trip by Annalena Baerbock have risen, with many EU members hoping Berlin will use this opportunity to set out a clear and united EU line on China, analysts told Reuters.

The French leader’s remarks and the reactions to them expose the cracks in Europe. While Macron has been long putting his weight behind economic and military autonomy, many in Central and Eastern Europe fear alienating the US whose aid they need to keep a check on Russia.

America says…

The official response from the US has been measured. It did not directly address Macron’s comments but the US State Department spokesperson and the White House lauded the bilateral relationship with Paris and its role in the Indo-Pacific region and Ukraine, reports Reuters.

But the outrage in Europe has not gone unnoticed. In a social media post linking to the Politico interview, the US Republican senator Marco Rubio said if Europe doesn’t “pick sides between the US and China over Taiwan, then maybe we shouldn’t be picking sides either [on Ukraine].”

“Maybe, we should basically say we are going to focus on Taiwan and the threats that China poses, and you guys handle Ukraine and Europe,” he added.

Former US president Donald Trump accused Macron of pandering to Xi Jinping. “You got this crazy world is blowing up and the United States has absolutely no say. And Macron, who’s a friend of mine, is over with China kissing his ass,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News late on Tuesday.

The Wall Street Journal said that the French leader’s comments were unhelpful. They would encourage American politicians who want to reduce the country’s commitment to Europe. “If President Biden is awake, he ought to call Mr Macron and ask if he’s trying to re-elect Donald Trump,” the paper wrote in an editorial.

A win-win for China

Beijing, of course, is pleased with Macron. An opinion piece published Monday by the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times said the comments were “clearly the result of Macron’s long-term observation and reflection” and represented a path that was “relatively objective, rational and in line with Europe’s own interests”.

“Some people want to construct a false Europe in public opinion, masking true European voices and interests,” the article added.

Chen Weihua, Brussels bureau chief for state-run China Daily, wrote on Twitter, “Mr Macron’s words about EU strategic autonomy and resisting a new Cold War and decoupling will also prove to be a brilliant decision.”

Looks like China has scored yet another win over the US.

With inputs from agencies

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