Surely Ukraine is not the prelude. As Emmanuel Macron was departing Guangzhou, Chinese warships were cruising towards the Taiwan strait. We ask about the three-day show of force staged as a show of displeasure with last week's visit by the Taiwanese president to California, and about the US Navy destroyer dispatched to what China claims are its territorial waters.
Are Beijing and Washington really fixing for a fight? After Ukraine, can the United States stomach a second superpower showdown?
More broadly, why Taiwan? We ask about the stakes surrounding the world's top manufacturer of semiconductors, a liberal democracy that Beijing has vowed to retake in time for the centenary of the Communist revolution in 2049.
Is this also Europe's fight? On that score, we hear what Emmanuel Macron thought after three days in China.
Produced by Andrew Hilliar, Daphné Leprince-Ringuet and Guillaume Gougeon.
