French President Emmanuel Macron’s unexpected suggestion that Europe not “follow” US policy on Taiwan is being hailed as a “brilliant decision” this week in China.
Macron sowed confusion across the international community — and left Western allies bristling — after calling for “strategic autonomy” on Taiwan following last week’s trip to China, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
The 45-year-old Macron enjoyed a rock star’s reception during his three-day visit, including being mobbed by selfie-chasing students in the southern city of Guangzhou, and local media have covered his subsequent comments widely, focusing on the phrase “strategic autonomy.”
Photo: Reuters
An opinion piece published on Monday by the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times said the comments were “clearly the result of Macron’s long-term observation and reflection,” and represented a path that was “relatively objective, rational and in line with Europe’s own interests.”
“Some people want to construct a false Europe in public opinion, masking true European voices and interests,” the article added.
Chen Weihua (陳偉華), the Brussels bureau chief for state-run China Daily, wrote on Twitter that “Macron’s words about EU strategic autonomy and resisting a new Cold War and decoupling will also prove to be a brilliant decision.”
Macron’s words on distancing Europe from Washington on the subject of Taiwan prompted elation on social media in China.
“Daring to talk openly about autonomy,” a user of social media site Sina Weibo commented under a news article on Macron. “Europe has progressed.”
While the reputations of most Western leaders in China have suffered in the past few years, Macron enjoys a largely favorable public image — an attitude made evident by the hordes of students in Guangzhou.
His willingness in the recent interview to differentiate French foreign policy from that of the US on the issue of Taiwan helped bolster that fan base.
“Macron’s ideas are very good. Europe’s arrogance and inaction for many years have led to extreme strategic passivity, being pulled along by the US,” one social media user commented.
Such triumphant Chinese perspectives have also been tempered by more sober voices contending that geopolitical realities necessitate that France and Europe remain largely aligned with the US.
Hu Xijin (胡錫進), a prominent political commentator and former editor-in-chief of the state tabloid Global Times, on Monday wrote on Sina Weibo that — despite Macron’s rosy comments — it was “unrealistic” for China to think France would side with them in future confrontations with the US.
Europe and the US “have shared values and are bound together by NATO,” Hu wrote.
“But we can firmly believe that as long as China treats European countries reasonably and fairly while the US forces them to oppose China, conflicts between their strategic interests will rise to the surface,” he added.
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