US Forces EU to Disrupt Relations With China to Europe's Detriment

China has no illusions about Emmanuel Macron, whose strings are pulled by Washington, Angelo Giuliano, a Hong Kong-based political and financial analyst, told Sputnik as Chinese President Xi Jinping met his French counterpart in Paris.

French President Emmanuel Macron met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Elysée Palace on May 6 to discuss the Ukraine conflict and emerging trade frictions between the bloc and Beijing.

Politico has predicted a trade war between the EU and China stemming from Europe's desire to "protect core technologies."

The website highlighted EU probes into what it termed "unfair competition" in electric vehicles, wind turbines and hospital equipment.

According to the online publication, Macron has spearheaded the EU's effort to rebalance the bloc's partnership with China.

Macron is trying to stay relevant in geopolitics while bracing for a potential defeat during the forthcoming European Parliament elections, said Angelo Giuliano, a Hong Kong-based political and financial analyst.

Trade war with China will make more damage to EU than to Beijing

"I think Xi Jinping doesn't have much hope when it comes to [ French President Emmanuel] Macron," Angelo Giuliano, a Hong Kong-based political and financial analyst, told Sputnik. "Macron has a double face (…)… pic.twitter.com/HhPRfMZrZO

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) May 6, 2024

"I think Xi Jinping doesn't have much hope when it comes to Macron," Giuliano told Sputnik. "Macron has a double face. He says one thing one day, and he says the opposite the other day."

Xi likely understands that Macron is an opportunist, the analyst said.

"But ultimately Macron is the US' tool. So Macron follows whatever the EU is doing and follows what NATO and the US are telling to do," Giuliano stressed. "We saw that with [European Commission President] Ursula Von der Leyen who was present at the meetings. It shows clearly that France has completely lost its sovereignty and it actually needs the EU to sit at the table. That shows clearly that France is not a sovereign state anymore."

Giuliano argued that a trade war with China clearly goes against the EU's interests. The analyst drew attention to the fact that Europe's decoupling from Russia came at a steep price.

"Sanctions against Russia actually backfired on Europe really badly. Now we see Russia doing extremely well and the EU doing extremely badly. And this is very closely linked to the sanctions they imposed on Russia," the expert noted. "The EU is not competitive anymore and it is being deindustrialized. When it comes to China, the impact would be probably ten-fold."

Giuliano explained that "if there is any strained relationship between the two, it will much more damage the EU than China." China's trade relationships with the Global South and BRICS are developing at a greater pace than European economies, the analyst highlighted.

He believes that the US is behind the looming trade war between China and the EU. The European bloc will eagerly shoot itself in the foot because EU members are "ultimately US vassal states," according to Giuliano.

On the eve of the meeting, French newspaper Le Monde called upon Europe not to treat China as a "friend" — citing Beijing's alleged aim "to weaken Western democracies, thereby undermining the transatlantic relationship as much as possible, and even the European Union itself."

The newspaper also castigated China's cooperative relationship with Moscow and unwillingness to join the Western sanctions spree over Russia's special operation in Ukraine.

The timing of the anti-Beijing push in France is remarkable, given that May 6 is the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and the People's Republic of China.

🇨🇳 Other statements of Xi Jinpin on the Ukrainian crisis:

🔺China is ready to maintain contact with relevant parties.

🔺China did not create the Ukrainian crisis and is not a party to it. All this time, China has been vigorously working to facilitate peace negotiations.…

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) May 6, 2024

"Who controls Europe is the US. And Macron is a very good example because he was groomed," Giuliano stressed. "He was identified very early on by the globalist elites and the US. He's been working for them all along."

"China doesn't actually respect those puppets. It knows that those people are not in charge and they are working for globalist elites. So I do think that Xi Jinping doesn't respect those leaders because they are not leaders," he continued. "They are de facto traitors to their own countries and they're working for globalist interests. I think when it comes to China, visits to countries like France are made more out of politeness."