French Foreign Minister Le Drian summoned the Chinese ambassador to France, Lu Shano, on March 23 to express his dissatisfaction with the embassy’s words and actions that went beyond the red line. The source revealed that Lusano wanted to mention Taiwan before he was directly interrupted by Le Drian, and Lus himself has become a problem in France-China relations.
Dissatisfied with the Chinese Communist Party‘s remarks and practices, the French Foreign Ministry summoned Chinese Ambassador Lu Shano on March 23.
When Lu arrived at the Foreign Ministry on the morning of March 23, Bertrand Lortholary, director of Asian affairs at the Foreign Ministry, told Lu: “The practices of the Chinese Embassy and the tone of its public comments are totally unacceptable and go beyond the limits of what is generally accepted by any embassy in the world. The insults, incitement and threats against members of Congress, academics, and journalists are intimidating practices that lead to fundamental problems.”
The meeting lasted about 20 minutes, and when Luciano tried to mention Taiwan, he was told to make another appointment. A diplomatic source said, “We don’t want to classify him as persona non grata, but we want the attacks to stop. His attitude is not in line with his role of seeking common ground, but rather has become a problem for Franco-Chinese relations.”
Roussano declined an invitation from the French Foreign Ministry on 22 February, citing “trip relations.” Clement Beaune, the secretary of state for European affairs, in an interview on France Info on the morning of the 23rd, was unhappy and questioned: “I don’t believe in the issue of travel, and it doesn’t make sense. France and Europe are not stupid. If we were ambassadors, when we were summoned, we would have gone to meet the foreign minister.”
The Chinese Communist Party’s war-wolf diplomacy not only annoyed the French government, but also touched a sensitive nerve in French diplomacy. The French newspaper Le Figaro writes that, in contrast to its usual low-profile approach, the Foreign Ministry chose to publicly express its displeasure with Lu Shano through a press release, arguing that he had “crossed a red line”.
Antoine Bondaz, a researcher at the French Foundation for Strategic Studies (FRS) who was called a “rogue” by the Chinese embassy in a 19th tweet, hailed the foreign minister’s summons as an “indispensable high-level correction.
We used to think that not talking openly about human rights in China would benefit us economically,” Bondaz told the Figaro newspaper. But that was a mistake, because this issue is at the heart of power relations. If we are unable to defend our values, our model, then in this hostility, the Chinese Communist Party will try to discredit our system.”
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