French Minister Warns Europe Not To Get Embroiled In Biden-Xi Standoff: 'US Wants To Oppose China, We Want To Engage China'

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned Europe not to get embroiled in a US-China standoff. 

What Happened: Le Maire said Europe should rather forge its own path in strengthening economic relations with China. 

There is a "slight gap" between how Europe and the U.S. deal with China, Le Maire told Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos, adding that it's in the European Union's interests to work with Beijing in furthering trade.

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"The U.S. wants to oppose China, we want to engage China," Le Maire said. "I strongly believe that in the world game, China must be in, China cannot be out."

Le Maire also warned that if the U.S. doesn't change the Inflation Reduction Act, Europe might bring something similar of its own. "We are expecting some concessions from our American friends but there is also another way, which is to put in place a kind of European Inflation Reduction act," Le Maire said, adding, "Time is of the essence: we need to be more independent."

This comes after U.S. President Joe Biden hosted France's French President Emmanuel Macron for a state dinner last month and said the subsidies act could be tweaked to make it easier for European nations to participate.

Biden said the American subsidies act was never intended to exclude European allies.

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