Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

French and European leaders visit China, the 'systemic rival'

French and European leaders visit China, the 'systemic rival'

French President Emmanuel Macron is in China for a four-day visit, hoping to dissuade Beijing from directly supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The French leader won't want to alienate a crucial trade and geopolitical player. Macron is accompanied by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

France endorsed the EU characterisation of China as a "systemic rival" in 2019. Paris has criticised Beijing on its human rights policy, especially in Xinjiang, and has allowed semi-official delegations to visit nationalist Taiwan. French vessels take part in military exercises aimed at deterring China's warships in the South China sea and beyond.

France is worried about President Xi Jinping's closeness to Russia's Vladimir Putin and the fact that Beijing refuses to mediate in the conflict while buying massive amounts of Russian gas and oil.

According to Jean-Pierre Cabestan, an Emeritus Professor at the Baptist University in Hong Kong, Paris also worries about China's increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific, where France has a number of territories, including New Caledonia and French Polynesia.

"We do cooperate on a number of issues like climate change," Cabestan says,"but there's also a lot of economic competition."

The "geopolitical tensions are affecting this relationship."


Six decades of diplomacy


Next year, China and France will celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations.

Paris broke the bond with Taiwan in 1964, between two of mainland China's most dramatic political upheavals, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Why did Paris stage this raprochement at that time?

"It was the time of President Charles de Gaulle," says Cabestan. "Both China and France were questioning their ties to the two global power blocs," Soviet and American.

Cabestan adds that the change "didn't bring much to France, because two years later, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution," and the ensuing chaos put a hold on any diplomatic activity.

Interestingly, a number of French intellectuals, led by Jean-Paul Sartre, admired China's interpretation of socialism.

French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre travelled to China in 1955.


"The (French) mindset of the time was very radical, influenced by socialist ideas," says Cabestan, and it was influenced by a critical attitude towards Moscow's politics.

"So there was an expectation that the Chinese would come with another model of socialism, better than Khrushchev's Soviet Union," adding that in the end, the Parisian intellectuals "were disappointed" when it appeared that the Cultural Revolution amounted to chaos and millions of deaths.

"They didn't know anything about what was happening in China.They hoped that China would offer an alternative to the Soviet model, but in fact, it was even worse in terms of economic development, human rights, and authoritarianism," Cabestan believes.


Tragedy in Tiananmen


Relations flourished after China opened up to the outside world in 1978 and big-brand French companies such as Framatome, Renault, Danone and Maxim's started to invest massively in joint venture operations.

But the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown soured the ties, and French companies started to put their hopes on Taiwan.

"There was a window of opportunity after Tiananmen with Taiwan trying to increase its arms procurement," according to Cabestan.

Under Socialist President François Mitterrand, Paris took the opportunity to sell Lafayette class frigates and 60 Mirage 2000 jets to Taiwan. But the window closed quickly when China started its own boycott of French companies.

Taiwan Air Force Mirage fighter jets taxi on a runway at an airbase in Hsinchu, Taiwan, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022.


Military sales to Taiwan were suspended under right-wing Prime Minister Eduard Balladur, allowing French companies to get back into the Chinese market again.

Paris and Taipei maintain 'trade representative offices" and there's currently a "very dynamic economic and cultural relationship with Taiwan," but Cabestan insists that "China is much more important for France now than Taiwan."


A relationship under strain


Today, the relationship is threatened by Xi Jinping's hard line against minorities such as the Tibetans, Uyghurs and Mongols, and by Beijing's determination to extend its influence in the South China Sea and beyond.

"Beijing feels the need to reconnect," according to Cabestan. China has been isolated for three years as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic. The flurry of visits also shows "China's willingness to reach out the West and particularly Europeans" and to "resume some kind of channel of communication with the US".

Cabestan is not optimistic. "The environment is much, much more difficult" than before 2019.

Still, Macron and the head of the EU Commission have decided to focus on reducing risks. They will seek practical and discreet solutions to reduce tensions, without harming China's prospects for the future.

Flags of France and China flutter in front of Tiananmen Gate during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to China, in Beijing, China January 8, 2017


President Macron will meet French residents in Beijing before holding discussions with Chinese leaders and attending a state dinner on Thursday.

On Friday, he will travel to Guangzhou to meet local students.

Macron will be accompanied by a cultural delegation including electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre, who was the first western musician to stage a pop concert in the People's Republic of China in 1981.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
×