Donald Trump to call China, Russia competitors in national security strategy speech
Strategy does not repeat former President Barack Obama’s description of climate change as a national security threat, aides say
United States President Donald Trump will declare that China and Russia are competitors seeking to challenge US power and erode its security and prosperity, in a national security strategy he will lay out in a speech on Monday.
“They 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,” according to excerpts of Trump’s strategy released by the White House.
The strategy, a product of months of deliberations by the president and his top advisers, does not repeat former President Barack Obama’s 2016 description of climate change as a US national security threat, aides said.
Trump has vowed to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord unless changes are made to it. “The United States will continue to advance an approach that balances energy security, economic development, and environmental protection,” the document will say.
Trump’s national security posture reflects his “America first” priorities of protecting the US homeland and borders, rebuilding the US military, projecting strength abroad and pursuing trade policies more favourable to the United States.