The French position vis-à-vis Taiwan has not changed. This was said by French President Emmanuel Macron on the last day of his state visit to the Netherlands on Wednesday. With this, he responded for the first time to the international criticism he received in response to earlier statements on Taiwan.
“We want to avoid conflict” and “preserve the status quo” when it comes to Taiwan, Macron said. According to the French president, he also made this known to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
After a visit to China last week, Macron said the European Union should not be drawn into a crisis between the United States and China over Taiwan. He also pleaded for a more independent Europe.
In an interview with French newspapers The echoes And Policy Macron said of Taiwan: “The worst thing would be if we Europeans became adept at this subject and had to adapt to the American pace or an overreaction from China.”
The interview drew international criticism. US Republican Senator Marco Rubio made a comparison with Ukraine. “If Europe isn’t taking sides between the United States and China on Taiwan, then maybe we as the United States shouldn’t be taking sides on Ukraine either,” he said. Rubio.
“Strategic error”
The interview also went badly in a number of Eastern European countries. They are very attached to the relationship with Washington. They stressed that US military aid was badly needed in Ukraine. In the Netherlands, Ruben Brekelmans (VVD) tweeted: “To suggest that Taiwan is not our problem is a strategic error”.
The spokesman for the French Embassy in the United States was quick to say that Macron’s remarks had been overinterpreted. “The United States is our ally, with whom we share our values,” he tweeted on Monday.
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