Americans must recognize that Macron has chosen China
Washington Examiner
France is America’s oldest ally. Unfortunately, Washington must now accept the uncomfortable fact that it is no longer as staunch an ally as it once was. Under President Emmanuel Macron, France is putting the interests of America’s preeminent adversary before those of the United States.
Visiting China last week, Macron made it plain that he’ll serve Xi Jinping’s global interests as long as France keeps getting lucrative Chinese trade deals.
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He again clearly echoed Xi’s call to “avoid bloc vs. bloc confrontation.” That’s code for, “We won’t join the U.S. in confronting China’s effort to rewrite the rules of international order.” The French president said Europe should not threaten retaliation against China if it attacks Taiwan, and he told Politico that Europe needed to separate itself from American efforts to constrain Chinese aggression.
Macron was well rewarded for this. His ego was buoyed by screaming Communist Party-approved students. He walked red carpets and was given several personal audiences with the new Son of Heaven. This contrasted sharply with the brusque treatment given to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who, shortly before traveling to Beijing, called for greater European attention to the risks of untrammeled trade with China. She also warned of the challenges Beijing poses to the European Union’s long-term interests. Hers was a prudent speech, moderate in its recommendations. Still, it infuriated Beijing. Xi has become accustomed to EU bootlicking from the likes of Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, and Spain’s Pedro Sanchez who scoop up trade deals in return for ignoring the concerns von der Leyen outlined.
Von der Leyen deserves American gratitude and respect. Macron does not.
By distancing France from U.S. efforts to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Macron has given Xi a priceless gift. A key element of deterring Xi is to foster the belief that the West is unified and would punish an attack on the island democracy. If Xi knew that attacking Taiwan would mean China’s economic dislocation from Europe as well as from the U.S. and Japan, he might well be deterred. There is value in ambiguity, and Macron has just given that away.
Contrary to Macron’s disingenuous assertion that Europe lacks the military capacity to deter Xi, France and other European powers have small but capable navies. Even if these powers would not, in the event, go to war over Taiwan’s survival, it would help if they kept Xi guessing. Instead, Macron has effectively told Xi, “If you want to attack Taiwan, don’t worry about having to fight France.”
It’s a dishonorable abandonment of both France’s democratic values and of its oldest ally. Macron knows that Xi has ordered his military to be ready to subjugate Taiwan by 2027. He knows the U.S. military is preparing for that conflict. He knows that many Americans may die in that fight. His de facto grant of passage to Xi is thus a significant betrayal.
The ramifications are wider than Taiwan, for Macron is making it clear that U.S. efforts to build and maintain a united allied front will be sacrificed to French commercial interests. Whether it’s human rights, intellectual property theft, espionage, or other urgent concerns, Macron has either stated or hinted that he will have Xi’s back. This needs to be factored into American thinking about France.
President Joe Biden might believe the best way to deal with Macron is to fete him with state visits. But the next U.S. president should accept Macron’s France for what it is, an old friend who, on the most consequential of concerns, does not have America’s back.