France wants independence, will stabilize relations with China

French finance minister
Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday that France and Europe want to
pursue an independent policy path from the United States and
China, but intend to be “strong and reliable allies of the
United States of America.”
Le Maire told reporters on the sidelines of the
International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings that
there was strong coordination between Paris and Washington on
their positions on China ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s
recent visit to the country.
Le Maire’s comments come amid backlash in the United States
and Europe over Macron’s Politico interview published on Sunday,
in which he called on the European Union to reduce dependence on
the United States and cautioned against being drawn into a
crisis over Taiwan driven by an “American rhythm and a Chinese
overreaction.”
Asked about Macron’s comments, Le Maire said the controversy
was “much ado about nothing” because the French president has
been advocating such an approach for years.
“We want Europe to be sovereign. I mean that on the
geopolitical issues, on the industrial issues, on the
technological issues, we want Europe to be more independent,” Le
Maire said. “This has been at the core of the French policy for
more than six years.”
He said Macron spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden before
visiting China and said the U.S., France and Europe have a
“coordinated approach” to relations with China.
“We want to engage China because we strongly believe that
the best way of getting some concrete results from the
relationship of China is to engage China,” Le Maire said, adding
that this was needed on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, reducing
carbon emissions, and providing debt relief to poor countries.
Le Maire said Macron had asked China to hold more dialogue
on Taiwan-related issues. “We demand China to de-escalate” its
military actions around Taiwan, he said.