On 5-7 April 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Beijing took place. The date of the visit became clear on February 24, 2023, after the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Beijing’s position and proposals for ending the Russia-Ukraine War, and the timing of the visit was approximately two weeks after the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow on March 20-22, 2023. Therefore, it can be said that the main purpose of Macron’s contacts with Xi is to end the Russia-Ukraine War through China’s mediation. It is not a coincidence that Shi’s visit to Kiev came to the fore in parallel with Macron’s visit. In this sense, it will not be surprising that the mediation of China on the Russian side and France on the Ukraine side come to the agenda. However, it would be an incomplete reading to limit the purpose of the French President’s visit to China to the war in Ukraine.
As a matter of fact, the development and deepening of economic relations between the European Union (EU) and China was also discussed during Macron’s visit to Beijing. Undoubtedly, EU countries, especially France, have a serious economic interdependence with China. Therefore, the Paris administration attaches importance to relations with Beijing. This does not coincide with the expectations of the United States of America (USA), which wants to consolidate Europe against China. In fact, the statements made by Macron on April 9, 2023 confirm this. In his statement, Macron stated that Europe will not gain anything from the acceleration of the Taiwan Crisis and that European states should follow a strategy independent of both Washington and Beijing; in other words, he stated that they should prioritize their own interests.[1]
As it is known, the USA repaired the damage in trans-Atlantic relations to a large extent after Russia’s intervention in Ukraine and brought the European states together against Russia within the framework of a common threat perception. The Washington administration wishes for a similar situation to occur in the Asia-Pacific Region and for the EU to be positioned against China. Because the main rival of the USA in the global power struggle is China. For this reason, there is a Washington administration that wants to drag China into the status of an aggressor state through Taiwan and takes steps to provoke Beijing for this purpose. However, Macron’s aforementioned statements indicate that France in particular and Europe in general will not act in accordance with the expectations of the USA.
In fact, the stance of France is shaped by the policies of the USA itself. Because the Washington administration is pursuing a strategy to contain China in the Asia-Pacific. The USA, which tries to use the conflicts in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Question for its own interests, through alliances in the region; it is seen that they implement a policy that can be called “Asian NATOs”. In this sense, it can be said that the USA is trying to benefit from two main alliances. These are QUAD and AUKUS. France, on the other hand, considers AUKUS to be a betrayal.
As it will be remembered, in September 2021, the Canberra administration came together with the USA and England and signed the AUKUS Pact. While this agreement foresees the acquisition of nuclear submarines by Australia; Canberra withdrew from the submarine agreement it signed with the Paris administration.[2] During this process, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said, “We were stabbed in the back.” the explanation in the form of has attracted attention.[3]
At this point, it should be reminded that France’s seven overseas regions, which make up 9 million km2 of the 11 million km2 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), are located in the Asia-Pacific. 1.6 million French citizens live in the region and 7,000 French military personnel are on duty.[4] In this sense, the Paris administration seems to be excluded by the USA itself in a region where it wants to be active at the geopolitical level. Therefore, it is possible to interpret Macron’s visit to Beijing on 5-7 March 2023 as France’s search for a new alliance in the region.
As a matter of fact, although Europe seems to have shifted to the USA axis due to the Russia-Ukraine War, it desires to be positioned as a power center in the polarized world. In this sense, France is trying to assume the political leadership of the EU. It is possible to say that Macron has a desire in this direction, especially in terms of the situation in Germany after Angela Merkel. Therefore, Macron’s visit to China and the message he gave on Taiwan in this context can be interpreted as that France will not act in line with the wishes of the USA in Asia-Pacific. It is also possible to describe this as the revenge of AUKUS.
As a result, although the USA has turned to various alliances to limit China in the Asia-Pacific Region, its stance that excludes France has made it difficult for Washington to achieve success in consolidating Europe against Beijing. Because Macron’s Beijing visit, to the USA, “I am not with you.” can be read as the transmission of the message. When the aim of the Continental Europe to be positioned as a pole in the multipolar world is included, it can be argued that the Washington administration will not be able to receive European support against China, its main rival in the global power struggle.
[1] “Macron: Europe Should not follow US or Chinese Policy over Taiwan”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/macron-says-europe-should-not-follow-us-or-chinese-policy-over-taiwan-2023-04-09/, (Date of Accession: 10.04.2023).
[2] “AUKUS: Fransa, ABD’den Sonra Avustralya Büyükelçisini De ‘İlişkiler Yeniden Tanımlanacak’ Diyerek Geri Gönderiyor”, BBC Türkçe, https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-dunya-58826799, (Date of Accession: 10.04.2023).
[3] “Batı Blokunda Denizaltı Krizi: Fransa, Washington ve Canberra Büyükelçilerini Geri Çağırdı”, Euronews, https://tr.euronews.com/2021/09/17/bat-blokunda-denizalt-krizi-fransa-washington-ve-canberra-buyukelcilerini-geri-cag-rd, (Date of Accession: 10.04.2023).
[4] Mustafa Cem Koyuncu, “Fransa’nın Hint-Pasifik’teki Etkisini Arttırma Çabaları”, ANKASAM, https://www.ankasam.org/fransanin-hint-pasifikteki-etkisini-arttirma-cabalari/, (Date of Accession: 10.04.2023).
