President Emmanuel Macron’s recent Politico interview from his return flight from China (where he spoke at length with Chinese president Xi Jinping) has triggered a wave of controversy. Macron asserted that “Europe must reduce its dependency on the United States and avoid getting dragged into a confrontation between China and the U.S. over Taiwan.” He warned that if Europe too quickly takes sides with the U.S. in such a conflict, then “we won’t have the time, nor the resources, to finance our strategic autonomy, and we will become vassals.” Cultivating a position of “strategic autonomy” for Europe requires reducing its dependence on the U.S. dollar as the primary currency of trade, as well as its dependence on U.S. energy and weapons. Instead, Europe must seek to develop its own industrial, military, and political independence.
