Germany's foreign minister begins a visit to China on Thursday aiming to reassert a common European Union policy toward Beijing days after remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron suggested disarray in the continent's approach to the rising superpower.
Macron provoked a backlash in the United States and Europe when he called on the European Union to reduce dependence on the U.S. and cautioned against being drawn into a crisis over Taiwan driven by an "American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction."
Many European politicians, diplomats and analysts saw Macron's comments in an interview with Politico and French daily Les Echos as a gift to what they called Beijing's goal of dismantling transatlantic unity.