Europe presses tough Taiwan stance after backlash against Macron comments

After French President Emmanuel Macron’s weak remarks, European foreign policy authorities on Friday warned China not to use force against Taiwan, a democratically ruled island.

China has conducted heavy military drills surrounding Taiwan, which it claims as its own, in recent days.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, addressing the subject at a press conference in Beijing with her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang, said any attempt by China to dominate Taiwan would be unacceptable and would have major ramifications for Europe.

EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell reiterated her sentiments in a statement prepared for a speech intended to be delivered in Beijing at the Center for China and Globalization think tank on Friday that had to be cancelled after he caught COVID-19.

“A military escalation in the Taiwan Strait, through which … 50% of world trade goes every day, would be a horror scenario for the entire world,” said Baerbock, adding it would have “inevitable repercussions” for European interests.

In interviews published after his trip to China last week, which was designed to display European unity on China policy, Macron cautioned against getting drawn into a crisis over Taiwan driven by a “American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction”.

While many of the observations were not new, the timing of their publication, and their bluntness, annoyed many Western leaders.

“The European Union’s position (on Taiwan) is consistent and clear,” Borrell added. “Any attempt to change the status quo by force would be unacceptable.”

UKRAINE ISSUE Borrell also said Europe’s future relationship with China hinged on China using its influence to solve the Ukraine crisis politically.

“It will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the European Union to maintain a relationship of trust with China, which I would like to see, if China does not contribute to the search for a political solution based on Russia’s withdrawal from the Ukrainian territory,” Borrell said.

“Neutrality in the face of the violation of international law is not credible,” Borrell said, adding a call for Chinese President Xi Jinping to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and for China to offer more humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Since Russia’s “special military operation” in February 2022 invaded Ukraine, Xi has met Putin twice but not Zelenskiy.

In a February policy document on Ukraine, China opposed civilian and nuclear facility attacks but did not criticize Russia.

“President Xi’s visit to Moscow has demonstrated that no other country has a bigger influence on Russia than China,” said Baerbock.

“It’s encouraging that China wants to help. I wonder why China hasn’t asked Russia to cease the conflict. We know President Putin can do so anytime.”

Poland’s prime minister warned this week that Ukraine’s setback may inspire China to invade Taiwan.

In a speech last month on the eve of her China tour, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned against economic dependence on China. Baerbock and Borrell agreed.

“We just paid a high price for our energy dependency on Russia, and it is well-known that one should not make the same mistake twice,” said Baerbock, adding that Germany’s policy for China is economic security.

Borrell advised the EU to diversify its value chains to lessen its raw material dependence on China.

He also branded China’s market access limitations “unsustainable” and urged it to reduce trade imbalances with the EU.