France walks a tightrope on China
Thursday 24 April 2008
France has launched a major charm offensive in China this week, sending the leader of the Senate, Christian Poncelet, and former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. President Sarkozy’s diplomatic adviser Jean-David Levitte arrives this weekend.
France walks a tightrope on China
Thursday 24 April 2008
France has launched a major charm offensive in China this week, sending the leader of the Senate, Christian Poncelet, and former prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. President Sarkozy’s diplomatic advisor Jean-David Levitte arrives this weekend. The flurry of activity reflects a realization that Paris has to be much more proactive. It cannot stand back and count on its longstanding friendship with China – dating back to the De Gaulle era – to prevent Beijing from using its economic muscle to lash out at critics of its Tibet policy. That much was clear from the recent calls for a boycott of Carrefour, the French retail giant which has a very visible presence in China. Beijing is clearly upset at what happened during the Olympic torch relay in Paris, and dispatching high-level officials such as Raffarin (a pro-Chinese figure during Jacques Chirac’s presidency) may have a soothing effect. But what the Chinese would appreciate most is an unequivocal statement from Nicolas Sarkozy that he will go to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
And there’s the rub. His two key EU allies, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, are not going. The torch relay disturbances around the globe have increased the pressure on Western politicians not to attend the ceremony. Sarkozy needs to keep in step with his European partners while not jeopardizing French economic interests in China. Hence his mixed signals on whether he will attend. At some point he will have to make a difficult decision. For now he is holding out for dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama; this is a priority for the visiting French officials. Raffarin has noted three Chinese conditions for resuming talks: no secession for Tibet, no violence, and no sabotage of the Olympic Games. Raffarin says these three conditions “do not seem unreachable.” But what do they mean from the Dalai Lama’s perspective? He has long advocated more autonomy for Tibet, but not independence. He argues that he is not instigating any violence. And he has not called for a boycott of the Games. So it is hard to see a basis for dialogue, particularly as the word “sabotage” could be used as a catch-all to block talks with the Tibetan spiritual leader. After all, how do you prove or disprove sabotaging the Games?
