President Trump has released his first national security strategy, a document that envisions confrontations with “revisionist” powers like Russia and China that are working against U.S. interests.
The White House published the 55-page strategy on Monday before the president was slated to tout it during a speech in Washington.
The document casts the U.S. in a struggle for international influence with China and Russia, both countries it says are seeking to challenge America’s role as the world’s pre-eminent superpower.
The two nations are “attempting to erode American security and prosperity” and are “determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence,” the strategy says.
To maintain the U.S.’s edge, the Trump administration is outlining a plan to de-emphasize international agreements in favor of a go-it-alone approach when confronting rivals on trade and security issues.
The strategy also rolls back former President Obama’s focus on climate change as a centerpiece of American foreign policy.
But the Trump administration says it is committed to cooperating with allies and partners to curb North Korea’s nuclear program, to counter Iran’s influence in the Middle East and to stop “jihadist terrorists” operating worldwide.
It’s the Trump administration’s first major attempt at forming the president’s “America First” worldview into a comprehensive strategy.
“We will promote a balance of power that favors the United States, our allies, and our partners,” the document says. “We will never lose sight of our values and their capacity to inspire, uplift, and renew. Most of all, we will serve the American people and uphold their right to a government that prioritizes their security, their prosperity, and their interests,” the document says.