Macron urges Europe to cut 'excessive' dependencies on US, China

By Necva Tastan Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged the UK and wider Europe to reduce their economic and technological dependencies on both the US and China, warning that such reliance poses long-term risks to sovereignty and strategic autonomy.

Speaking before both houses of the British Parliament during a state visit to London, Macron said: “If we still depend on both China and the US, I think we have a clear view of our future and the future of our children.”

“We want an open world. We want to cooperate, but not to depend,” he stressed.

He criticized what he called “overcapacities and other subsidies” from China while also pointing to the “trade war” initiated by the US, which he described as “an explicit decision not to be compliant anymore with the WTO.”

Urging Europe against excessive dependencies on both the US and China, Macron added: “Each time we depend, each time we are not able to stand up and decide and agree to disagree. This is the beginning of our problem.”

His remarks come ahead of a Franco-British summit in London on Thursday, where leaders are expected to unveil new defense, energy, and economic initiatives.

It is the first address by a French president to the UK Parliament since 2008 and the first by an EU head of state since Brexit.