France is demanding that Europe cuts ties with the United States

France’s President Emmanuel Macron has demanded that Europe reduces its reliance on the United States and avoids getting dragged into a confrontation between the US and China over Taiwan.

The statement, made during Macron’s three-day state visit to China, could risk riling Washington and highlights the divisions in the European Union over how to approach China.

France’s concept of strategic autonomy

Macron emphasized his pet theory of “strategic autonomy” for Europe, presumably led by France, to become a “third superpower.” Speaking with POLITICO and two French journalists on his plane back from China, he said “the great risk” Europe faces is that it “gets caught up in crises that are not ours, which prevents it from building its strategic autonomy.”

He also highlighted his concern about “growing tensions in the region” that could lead to “a terrible accident.” Macron’s comments came just hours after China launched large military exercises around Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.

Beijing has repeatedly threatened to invade in recent years and has a policy of isolating the democratic island by forcing other countries to recognize it as part of “one China.”

Europe’s dependency on the US for weapons and energy, and the “extraterritoriality of the US dollar” were two factors Macron singled out as reducing Europe’s autonomy. He suggested Europe should focus on boosting European defense industries and reducing its reliance on the dollar.

Macron’s concept of strategic autonomy for Europe has been his long-held goal, and he sees France as the balancing power between the Cold War blocs. He has argued that Europe must reduce its dependency on the US to become an independent geostrategic player.

The French leader emphasized that Europe needs to have a European strategy in areas such as Ukraine, relations with China, and sanctions. Macron warned against getting into a bloc versus bloc logic and said that Europe “should not be caught up in a disordering of the world and crises that aren’t ours.”

Risks of getting dragged into a confrontation

Macron’s comments highlighted the risks of getting dragged into a confrontation between China and the US over Taiwan. He argued that it is not in Europe’s interest to accelerate a crisis over Taiwan, saying, “The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the US agenda and a Chinese overreaction.”

Macron’s approach to Taiwan was more conciliatory than the US or even the European Union. While discussing Taiwan with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday, Macron warned against “an acceleration of tensions breaking out between the duopoly” of China and the US.

He cautioned that if the confrontation escalates too quickly, Europeans “won’t have the time or the resources to finance our strategic autonomy and will become vassals.”

Macron’s statement has highlighted the divisions within the European Union over how to approach China, particularly in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.

While Europe’s emergence as an independent geostrategic player has been Macron’s goal, there is still contentious debate in Europe over the right approach with China and overbalancing security and trade issues.