The President of the Folks’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, obtained two distinguished friends in Beijing from 5 to 7 April: the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and the President of the European Fee, Ursula von der Leyen. Whereas each had been there to defend the EU’s pursuits, von der Leyen took a more durable line in opposition to China, warning of the potential penalties of cooperation with Russia.
Within the run-up to the assembly, the French president posited himself as a staunch defender of European pursuits. It was his remarks about Taiwan, nonetheless, that made probably the most headlines. Not even again from his state go to, as China equipped for main navy workout routines across the island, Macron warned Europeans in opposition to being “followers” and “adapting ourselves to an American rhythm and a Chinese language overreaction”. Whereas this evaluation will need to have made Beijing joyful, it was closely criticised within the West, condemned as each a “mistake” and a “catastrophe”, and whilst veiled “encouragement” for China’s ambition to carry Taiwan again into its fold.
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