NB Viewpoint | EU shouldn't follow US or China on Taiwan suggests French President Macron after China visit

"History is speeding up, the European war economy needs to be sped up in parallel" - Emmanuel Macron, France President

"Europe's defense industry does not meet all our needs and remains very fragmented," he said, arguing that this causes the EU to rely on American and Asian suppliers - Emmanuel Macron, France President

"Europe hadn't built strategic autonomy for a long time...But now the ideological battle has been won. Five years ago, strategic autonomy was a pipe dream. Now everyone is talking about it" - Emmanuel Macron, France President

Paris, Apr 10: French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday (Apr 9) called for the European Union ( EU ) to implement its stated policy of "strategic autonomy" and argued the bloc could become a "third pole" alongside China and the US and reiterated that the EU shouldn't follow US or China on Taiwan.

Macron: EU shouldn't follow US or China on Taiwan

Reiterating his calls for the EU to maintain an independent foreign policy in an interview for French business daily Les Echo, Macron said, "We don't want to get into a bloc versus bloc logic," arguing that Europe "should not be caught up in a disordering of the world and crises that aren't ours." The remarks follow a visit to China by Macron and other EU officials which included a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Among other issues, the leaders discussed tensions around Taiwan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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Macron stressed that an escalation in Taiwan was not in the EU's interest. "The question asked of us Europeans is the following: is it in our interest for there to be acceleration on the topic of Taiwan? No. The worst thing we Europeans could do would be to be followers on this topic and to adapt to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction. Why should we go at a rhythm chosen by someone else?"

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Meanwhile, Beijing performed "simulated coordinated precision strikes on important targets in Taiwan" on the second day of the drills, adding to the ongoing tense situation between Taiwan and China, Western media reported on Sunday (Apr 9). The drills kickstarted on Saturday (Apr 8) right after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen returned from the US where she met House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a meeting to which China strictly showed opposition to.