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China-France relations
OpinionWorld Opinion
Maurice Gourdault-Montagne
Maurice Gourdault-Montagne

Opinion | Together, China and France can build bridges between the West and the rest

  • The governance that was set up by the victors of World War II no longer reflects the actual balance of powers
  • France and China, two countries deeply attached to multilateralism, can play a role in establishing a global order that better reflects the new reality

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Illustration: Stephen Case
Maurice Gourdault-Montagne
President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Europe in five years comes amid exacerbated economic and political tensions in the world. Covid-19 hit supply chains and triggered fractures in a globalised world, and Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has accelerated that fragmentation, with sanctions on Russia having an impact internationally. The explosion of violence between Israel and the Palestinians has further widened the gap between the West and the rest of the world – let’s call it the Global South.
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We need more than ever to think about how to establish a sustainable peaceful world order. We must equally avoid a trade war between the European Union and China as US-China tensions could flare up in unpredictable ways in an American presidential election year.

The US’ interests do not necessarily overlap with European interests. As President Emmanuel Macron has stressed, we need to work with China for peace, prosperity and to deal with climate change. Xi’s visit was an opportunity to update the China-France relationship.

In this context, Charles de Gaulle’s decision 60 years ago to recognise the People’s Republic of China is especially relevant. At that time, the world was split into two by the Vietnam war. The missile crisis in Cuba involving the US and the Soviet Union had brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. France had just ended its colonisation of Algeria.

De Gaulle’s decision was to consider the reality of “the world as it is”. Nowadays it seems we are in a comparable situation in a tremendously changed world. Our reality today is that the governance that was set up by the victors of World War II no longer reflects the actual balance of powers.

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The international institutions of the United Nations don’t function efficiently. Emerging powers perceive double standards against them. Demographic trends are mostly in favour of the Global South where young populations are striving for justice and respect for their own cultures.

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