French president's remarks on China policy not 'weighed up,' say experts

ANKARA

Recent comments by Emmanuel Macron on China policy were uttered without the French president properly considering them first, experts believe.

Following a three-day visit to China, Emmanuel Macron said in an interview on April 5 that Europe must reduce its dependence on the US to ensure its strategic autonomy.

He added that Europe must avoid getting caught up in a possible China-Taiwan conflict, saying that France and Europe should not be "followers."

His remarks drew criticism on both sides of the Atlantic, with a number of European officials saying he did not speak for them.

Antoine Bondaz, a research fellow and director of the Korea and Taiwan programs at the Foundation for Strategic Research, said the president's remarks were confusing.

"France shares common concerns with the US, its European allies, and beyond," Bondaz told Anadolu, stressing that Paris' position on Europe's sovereignty has remained the same, which does not mean it is distancing itself from Washington.

"The current debate in France is not (about) whether to follow the US or blindly form an alliance with it. It is about our interests and the strategy to implement," he added.

Bondaz described Macron's remarks as "not weighed up properly," and said that their timing was also faulty.

'France wants to be Europe's leader'

The director of Ankara University's Asia-Pacific Research Center, Ali Merthan Dundar, told Anadolu that France and the US have long had a divergence.

France has been eyeing a leadership role in Europe since Britain quit the EU, he argued, noting that the US had managed to get Australia to drop a nuclear submarine deal with France last year.

"We do not know what Macron can achieve, but we can guess," he continued. "He might persist on his discourse toward a rapprochement with China, and take concrete steps."

Dundar noted that France did not establish these relations on its own, and remains bound by the EU and NATO.

Any steps it takes outside these "will not be very strong," he added. "Macron might be doing this to drag the US into some negotiations. For now, I don't think France can deepen its relations with Russia and China despite the US and the EU."

*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk