EU must assert autonomy in face of US-China dominance, says Macron

French president says US election chance to pursue sovereignty amid rising populism

European leaders must not let up on efforts to construct an autonomous bloc that is capable of resisting the duopoly of China and the US, Emmanuel Macron has said in his first extended response to the US presidential election.

The French president said the US would only respect Europe if it was sovereign with respect to its own defence, technology and currency. Warning that US values and interests were not quite the same as Europe's, he said: It is not tenable that our international policies should be dependent on it or to be trailing behind it." The same need for independence applied even more to China, he added.