China calls Trump national security strategy ‘selfish’

The Chinese government on Tuesday called President Trump’s newly unveiled national security strategy “selfish,” and warned that promoting rivalry between the U.S. and other countries “will lead to failure.” 

“It is completely selfish for a country to claim that its own interests are superior to the interests of other countries and to the shared interests of the international community. This mentality will only lead to isolation,” the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., said in a statement.

Trump on Monday released his administration’s national security strategy, which is aimed at delivering on the “America First” theme of his campaign.

{mosads}The 55-page document, drafted over the course of a year, places the United States in competition with “revisionist” powers like Russia and China that the Trump administration says want to realign the world in their interests while eroding American security and prosperity.

“Whether we like it or not, we are engaged in a new era of competition,” Trump said during a speech meant to outline the strategy. 

“We will attempt to build a great partnership with those and other countries,” the president said of Moscow and Beijing, as long as it “protects our national interest.”

The Chinese Embassy called out Trump for “self-contradictory rhetoric,” saying he labeled China as a rival while also hoping to develop a partnership.

“We call on the United States to abandon its outdated zero-sum thinking, and work together with China to seek common ground and engage in win-win cooperation,” the embassy said.