French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday reiterated his call for European “strategic autonomy” at an Atlantic Council forum on Thursday, saying: “It is certainly not our duty to depend on a US decision.”
Why does it matter: It will disappoint some in Washington to hear Macron apply this framework to US-China competition.
- If Europe and its partners pursue a strategy of “uniting all against China,” Macron said, it will make China “expand its regional strategy” and reduce its cooperation on global issues.
- But also, Europe cannot fully treat China as a partner, just like the US, because China is a systemic rival when it comes to values and geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific.
- Europe, then, needs to team up with the US on certain issues, work with China where possible and “try to be a useful player in pushing China to stop diverging.”
Macron has set four priorities when it comes to China:
- Collaborate with permanent members of the UN Security Council to seek convergence on security issues.
- Cooperation with China on climate change.
- Strengthen protection for intellectual property and fair trade.
- China’s human rights challenge.
More dishes to eat:
- About Russia, Macron reiterated his position that regular dialogue with Russia is important for Europe’s security, even if some colleagues are trying to isolate Vladimir Putin.
- About Iran, Macron said he welcomed Biden’s desire to negotiate with Iran and said, “I will be here … to try to be an honest broker and a broker engaged in this dialogue.” He added that Israel and Saudi Arabia should be brought in and issues such as ballistic missiles should be on the table.
Not worth anything: Macron criticized social media for their decisions to “suddenly cut off the microphone” as soon as they were sure Donald Trump would step down.
Go deeper: Macron is exploding on social media to ban Trump