Macron calls for de-escalation in China-US tensions, backs ‘de-risking’ strategy
- In his Davos speech, the French president stresses the need for EU to reduce its dependence on both major powers
- Macron’s address includes proposals for greater capital market union and more investment for Europe
“Our strategy vis-à-vis China in this context is not a decoupling strategy, but a de-risking strategy,” he said, referring to moves aimed at restructuring global supply chains that are now often centred in China.
Talk of “decoupling” from China, which emerged during the US-China trade war from 2018, has grown stronger in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and increasing geopolitical tension.
A day earlier, in his speech at Davos, Chinese Premier Li Qiang criticised attempts to “disrupt or undermine” the current global industrial supply chain and called for “effective safeguarding of the stability and smooth flow” of the current system.
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Premier Li Qiang plays up China’s economic prospects at World Economic Forum’s ‘Summer Davos’
To “block or break” the supply chain would be both inefficient and full of economic and social risk, Li said.