LONDON (Reuters) – Emmanuel Macron will be criticized by former British Prime Minister Liz Truss for trying to build bridges with Beijing.
In a speech Wednesday morning to the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, DC Truss will say that many in the West have “appeased and assimilated” to the authoritarian regimes in China and Russia.
She will say it is a “sign of weakness” that Western leaders visited China and sought Prime Minister Xi Jinping’s support in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – just days after Macron’s high-profile visit there.
While Truss – who left office just six weeks after becoming prime minister of a crisis-stricken UK – would not mention Macron by name, her comments come after an interview with Politico in which the French leader said Europe should resist pressure to become “America’s henchmen”. .
“The question that the Europeans have to answer… is it in our interest to hurry up,” Macron said [a crisis] in Taiwan? No, the worst thing is to think that we Europeans should become followers on this subject and take our cue from the American agenda and Chinese overreaction.”
Macron has already come under fire for those comments by the IPAC group of China-skeptic lawmakers, which on Monday said his remarks were “unwise”.
Truss, who had a frosty relationship with Macron during his short time in office last year, will use her rhetoric to urge a more aggressive stance toward both China and Russia.
“We’ve seen Vladimir Putin launch an unprovoked attack on a free and democratic neighbor, and we’ve seen the Chinese build up their weapons and arsenal and threaten free and democratic Taiwan,” Truss said, according to previously released remarks. “Many in the West have appeased and accommodated these regimes.”
She will add: “Western leaders visiting President Xi to ask for his support in ending the war is a mistake — a sign of weakness. Instead, our energies should go into taking more action to support Taiwan. We need to make sure that Taiwan is able to defend itself.”
Relations between Rishi Sunak, Macron’s successor, and Truss were noticeably warmer. The couple hailed a “new chapter” in relations between the UK and France in March, after striking a deal on cross-channel immigration.
“Subtly charming student. Pop culture junkie. Creator. Amateur music specialist. Beer fanatic.”