China News Service, Beijing, December 3 (Sweet) On December 2 local time, French President Macron ended his three-day visit to the United States.

　　This is Macron's second state visit to the United States.

The United States welcomed it with a rare specification, intending to show the "warm relationship" between the two sides.

However, in addition to careful arrangements, it is difficult to hide the geopolitical differences between the United States and Europe.

　　Once close allies, drifting away.

Originally wanted to seek "fairness" and "respect", but what Macron brought back to the European continent seemed to be only empty words of praise and verbal promises that were difficult to fulfill.

On December 1, US President Biden and his wife took a group photo with French President Macron and his wife when they arrived at the White House for a state banquet.

Beyond intimate meetings, Europe hurts alone

　　Macron is the first foreign leader to pay a state visit to the United States hosted by the Biden administration.

In order to emphasize the key significance of the US-French alliance, the US side held a series of grand welcome ceremonies.

　　On December 1, Biden met Macron at the White House.

A series of small interactions such as handshakes and hugs between the two were described by Agence France-Presse as "the emergence of brotherhood".

The 80-year-old Biden evaluated the 44-year-old Macron as a "close friend" and reiterated that France is the "oldest ally" of the United States.

　　But beyond the meeting, the increasingly severe trade differences between the US and Europe cast an indelible shadow over the feast.

　　For months, the discriminatory subsidy measures in the "Inflation Reduction Act" signed by Biden have caused strong dissatisfaction in Europe.

And on the first day of his visit to the United States, Macron directly "fired" when meeting with members of both parties in the U.S. Congress and business leaders. He just hoped to be "respected as a good friend" by the U.S. The playing field in Europe, "extremely aggressive".

　　Macron's move somewhat embarrassed Biden.

During a press conference with Macron, Biden responded that "the United States will not apologize for this" and that he himself signed the bill and will not apologize for it.

But the United States can make fine-tuning of relevant policies, and they have no intention of making Europe pay the price.

　　How many concessions can the United States achieve?

Some analysts say that even if Biden wants to withdraw some trade measures, the Democratic Party loses the majority of seats in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, and any of its agenda will be difficult to easily break through in Congress.

Coupled with the fact that the auto industry in states such as Ohio and Michigan welcomes huge subsidies, it is obviously difficult for Macron to achieve major results during this trip.

On December 1, after a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Biden stood with Macron.

Gradually drifting away, will the United States and Europe end in "divorce"?

　　This is not the first time that the United States has "stabbed" an important ally it claims.

France and other European countries have been repeatedly regarded by the United States as "receivers" for disaster relief.

　　Last year, the United States, Britain and Australia announced the establishment of the "Trilateral Security Partnership (AUKUS)" in a high-profile manner, which made the French feel "the unpleasant taste of being contemptuous and marginalized."

The United States also "stabbed in the back" and cut off tens of billions of dollars in submarine orders from France and Australia, which made Macron very angry, and the relationship between the two countries fell to a low point.

　　Today, the United States has made a lot of "energy wealth" in the Ukraine crisis, and once again made its allies feel wronged and angry by adding salt to their wounds.

Europe has reduced its energy dependence on Russia and turned to the United States to buy natural gas, but the price is three to four times the cost of the same fuel in the United States.

　　At the same time, Europe is still cleaning up the mess in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and other issues for the United States.

In particular, the social problems caused by the influx of refugees continue to affect and tear Europe apart.

In contrast, the United States has long been willing to accept a relatively limited number of refugees, and the Biden administration has also been exposed that it may not be able to implement the refugee target for fiscal year 2022.

　　As the differences between the United States and Europe deepened, Medvedev, vice chairman of the Russian Federation Security Council, sarcastically said that the "marriage" between the two is likely to end in "divorce".

　　From the perspective of the United States, the friendship with several traditional allies in Europe may no longer be the same.

A senior general of the U.S. Army stationed in Europe, who requested anonymity, said in an interview with Politico, a U.S. political news website, that after Britain, Germany is no longer considered the U.S.’s “best partner”; become our most important partner on the European continent".

　　He explained that while the United States and Poland are not close politically, Washington and Warsaw have worked closely together on military support for Ukraine.

　　But Politico expressed the "business calculation" in the heart of the United States: "No country plans to expand its military so quickly and extensively like Poland. Whoever obtains Poland's arms orders can benefit in the long run, because it also involves the maintenance of weapons. and repairs."

Data map: Refugees head to the border between Turkey and Greece.

The "Eastern Mediterranean Route" that enters Greece via Turkey is the main channel for refugees to enter Europe.

Calling for strategic autonomy, can Europe get rid of its dependence on the United States?

　　In recent years, European leaders have repeatedly called for strengthening European strategic autonomy.

This time, after the United States launched the "Inflation Reduction Act", the voices demanding to get rid of the dependence on the United States reappeared.

　　France has led calls for its own government support, including massive subsidies, for European companies.

Some German officials pointed out that the EU's 200 billion euro epidemic recovery fund is still available and can be reused to support industry.

　　Some European media commented that today's Europeans must ask themselves: Why does our peace and prosperity depend on the interests of the United States?

　　Will these voices be a driving force for Europe's strategic autonomy, or is it merely a diplomatic gesture?

　　In fact, Europe still has a long way to go before it can truly achieve strategic autonomy.

Previously, some analysts said that Trump's election as US president and Brexit would have a huge impact on the EU.

Voices doubting the liberal order gradually emerged in European countries, and calls for reforming the neoliberal economic model became louder.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the risk of European intellectual attachment to the American model, and has also triggered intellectual reflection within European society.

　　However, these reflections are not enough to reflect on the political and policy level.

Once the impact of an external crisis occurs, Europe's enthusiasm for strategic autonomy is likely to be replaced by strategic panic, and the original "America-centric thinking" model will also be reset.