Part V - International Relations and Diplomacy
The relationship with China
China is the most complex diplomatic challenge of the 21st century: simultaneously an inescapable commercial partner, an aggressive industrial competitor, a long-term systemic rival, and a power reshaping the world order at a historically unprecedented speed. France refuses both symmetric caricatures: neither China as a natural strategic partner, nor China as an existential enemy to be contained.
Critical dependencies: the absolute priority
Before any diplomatic doctrine, the Planning Commission systematically maps French dependencies vis-à-vis China in each strategic sector: rare earths and critical materials, electronic components, pharmaceutical active ingredients, network equipment. Each identified dependency is subject to a plan for progressive elimination.
Rare earths merit particular attention. China controls approximately 70% of global production and more than 85% of refining capacity. France possesses potential deposits on its territory and in its overseas territories: their exploration and exploitation are a national priority.
Trade: strict reciprocity
The Franco-Chinese commercial relationship is structurally imbalanced. Sovereign customs duties progressively restore a balance. Reciprocity is the guiding principle: China imposes strict conditions on foreign investments on its territory, France must apply symmetric conditions to Chinese investments in strategic sectors.
The question of Taiwan
France recognizes the one-China policy. It considers that any modification of the status quo by force is unacceptable: not out of automatic solidarity with Washington, but because the stability of the Indo-Pacific directly affects its interests through its overseas territories. France does not commit to defending Taiwan militarily; it supports a peaceful and negotiated resolution.
New Caledonia and the Pacific
China's growing presence in the South Pacific is a geopolitical reality that France cannot ignore. The French response is not security hysteria: it is reinforced presence. A national navy capable of ensuring a permanent presence in its maritime spaces, a development policy that reduces the vulnerability of territories to Chinese offers.
What France says to China
We recognize your power, we respect your civilization, we wish for balanced commercial relations. But we identify and eliminate our dependencies on you, we defend our interests in the Pacific, and we refuse to choose between you and the United States: because we do not choose sides.