Returning from a trip to China, which at the same time was carrying out military maneuvers around Taiwan, Emmanuel Macron had thrown trouble on the international scene, calling on the EU not to be a “follower” of the United States. Words that he later confirmed despite the outcry, explaining that being an “ally” of the United States did not necessarily mean being a “vassal”.
“I would like to start by telling you that I was with our President Emmanuel Macron in Amsterdam a few days ago and he made it very clear, both privately and publicly: our policy towards Taiwan is not has not changed, France has supported peace and stability from the start and opposes any change in the status quo”, wanted to reassure Roland Lescure, the Minister of Industry, in front of hundreds of representatives of Taiwanese companies gathered in Paris.
“Taiwan shares our democratic values and this is important, it is a solid basis for relations between our societies”, he said, saying France is “very attached” to exchanges with Taiwan and to their “dynamic cooperation in the fields of culture, education and science”. The Chinese nationalist island and France have “very good trade relations”, bilateral trade amounting to 8.1 billion euros, he recalled, calling on the Taiwanese to invest in France.