France’s Macron Defends Stance on US, China After Backlash

French president says policy regarding Taiwan hasn’t changed
Macron’s state visit to Netherlands overshadowed by comments

Emmanuel Macron speaks at the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

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By Ania Nussbaum and Diederik Baazil

April 12, 2023 at 3:34 PM UTC

Updated on

April 13, 2023 at 7:12 AM UTC

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Emmanuel Macron defended his approach to the US and China on Wednesday after his call for Europe to avoid being dragged into a conflict between Beijing and Washington sparked a backlash.

The French president said his view on Taiwan hasn’t shifted and pointed to a shared vision of an open Indo-Pacific region with US counterpart Joe Biden.