Macron Proposes 'Third Way' During Bangladesh Visit

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Facts

• On Monday, French Pres. Emmanuel Macron denounced 'new imperialism' in the Asia-Pacific and proposed 'a third way – with no intention to bully our partners or to lead them to an unsustainable scheme.'¹
• During his two-day visit to Bangladesh, Macron signed deals with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to facilitate loans for infrastructure development and provide Bangladesh with an earth observation satellite system.²
• The two leaders issued a joint statement expressing their willingness to advance the bilateral partnership to a strategic level as well as step up defense cooperation, including on non-traditional security issues.³
• Macron, the first French president to visit the South Asian nation in over three decades, also announced that Bangladesh's flagship carrier, Biman Airlines, had committed to ordering ten Airbus A350 — the former's first deal with the European plane maker.⁴
• Macron's trip follows the outlining of an Indo-Pacific strategy to recommit France to the region in July, when he visited Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu, and the French overseas territory of New Caledonia.⁵
• It also comes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Bangladesh a few days before the G20 summit in New Delhi. While France is trying to sell its nuclear expertise, Russia is currently building a $13B nuclear power plant in the country.⁶

Sources: ¹Le monde.fr, ²Euronews, ³Associated Press, ⁴Independent, ⁵Al Jazeera and ⁶Reuters.

Narratives

• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global times. France's waning colonial influence in the Asia-Pacific has prompted Macron to desperately claim that PRC efforts to assist regional development amount to new imperialism as if they were similar to aggressive US moves. Such allegations are reminiscent of previous smear campaigns against China's international cooperation, revealing that Western powers unfairly judge Beijing by their standards.
• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Internationale politik quarterly. Under its long-standing foreign policy tradition of serving as a balancing power, France seeks to offer a viable alternative for countries not interested in the US-China zero-sum game in the Asia-Pacific. However, even if Paris has refrained from describing China as an adversary, France has used 'naval diplomacy' to show Beijing that Chinese actions threaten its overseas national territories.

Predictions