UK’s Truss warns of West’s ‘weakness’ to China following Macron visit – Reuters

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LONDON — Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss won’t be so subtly going after Emmanuel Macron for his attempt to build bridges with Beijing.

In a speech Wednesday morning to the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, DC Truss will argue that too many people in the West have “appeased and accommodated” authoritarian regimes in China and Russia.

And she will say it’s a ‘sign of weakness’ for Western leaders to visit China and ask Prime Minister Xi Jinping for his support following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – just days after Macron’s highly publicized trip there.

While Truss – who left office after just six weeks as Britain’s crisis-hit prime minister – won’t mention Macron by name, his comments follow an interview with POLITICO in which the French president said the Europe should resist the pressure to become ‘America’s supporters’.

Macron said: “The question Europeans have to answer…is it in our interests to speed up [a crisis] in Taiwan? No. The worst would be to think that we Europeans have to become followers on this subject and take inspiration from the American agenda and an overreaction from China.

Macron has already come under fire for the comments from the IPAC group of China-skeptical lawmakers, who said on Monday his remarks were “misjudged”.

And Truss – who had a frosty relationship with Macron during his brief stint in power last year – will use his speech to urge a more aggressive stance on China and Russia.

“We saw Vladimir Putin launch an unprovoked attack on a free and democratic neighbor, we see the Chinese build up their weaponry and arsenal and threaten free and democratic Taiwan,” Truss will say in pre-released remarks. “Too many people in the West have appeased and come to terms with these regimes.”

She will add: “Western leaders visiting President Xi to ask for his support to end the war are a mistake – and a sign of weakness. Instead, our energies should be devoted to taking more action to support Taiwan. We have to make sure that Taiwan is able to defend itself.

Relations between Macron and Truss’ successor, Rishi Sunak, have been markedly warmer. The pair hailed a “new chapter” in relations between the UK and France in March, after reaching an agreement on cross-Channel migration.

POLITICO

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