Macron stands by Taiwan comments after backlash as Germany's top diplomat embarks on ‘damage control’ in China trip
President Emmanuel Macron said France’s position on Taiwan had not changed and that he favored the current “status quo” in respect of the island, after he was asked to clarify comments that prompted a backlash in the United States and Europe.
Germany’s foreign minister, meanwhile, begins a visit to China on Thursday aiming to reassert a common European Union policy toward Beijing days after Macron's remarks suggested disarray in the continent’s approach to the rising superpower.