MOSCOW -- Officials in Russia and China pushed back Tuesday against the characterization of their countries as threats to the United States in a new national security doctrine published by the White House a day earlier.
A spokesman for the Kremlin criticized President Donald Trump's foreign policy strategy as having an "imperialist character" while the Chinese Embassy in Washington suggested that the document's theme of "America first" reflected "outdated, zero-sum thinking."
Every U.S. administration is obliged to publish its national security strategy, providing Congress with a blueprint for its intended policies around the world. The 55-page doctrine the White House released Monday described Russia and China as "revisionist" powers for seeking a change in the U.S.-led world order.
"After being dismissed as a phenomenon of an earlier century, great power competition returned," the document says. Russia and China, it says, "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."
[PRESIDENT TRUMP: Timeline, appointments, executive orders + guide to actions in first 200 days]
Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, responded with the long-practiced Kremlin argument that the world would be a safer place if there were several powerful countries that could keep one another in check. The doctrine, he said, showed America's continuing "aversion to the multipolar world."
But Peskov also noted some recent instances of security cooperation, as did Trump in a speech about the new doctrine that took a softer line on Russia than the document did.
In the speech Monday, Trump made no mention of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which U.S. intelligence agencies concluded was intended to help him win. He focused instead on a phone call Sunday from Putin, who thanked him for information the CIA had provided to the Russian security services that helped them foil a terrorist plot in St. Petersburg.
Peskov also praised that tip as an "ideal example" of security cooperation.
And given the toxic view of Russia in Washington these days, several Russian foreign policy experts breathed a sigh of relief at the mere "revisionist" label. It could have been worse, Yuri Rogulyov, director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States, at Moscow State University, told the Business FM radio station.
"The very idea of a 'revisionist power' is a departure from the position of Congress, which included Russia in the same lineup with Iran and North Korea -- that is, among the rogue nations," Rogulyov said.
The new doctrine's recognition of Russia as a rising power is an improvement over the views of previous administrations, Sergei Karaganov, a periodic Kremlin adviser on foreign policy, said in an interview. "Obviously, the new order is emerging," he said.
'Zero-sum thinking'
The Chinese response to Trump's speech accused the United States of succumbing to "outdated, zero-sum thinking."
"On the one hand, the U.S. government claims that it is attempting to build a great partnership with China," the Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a statement. "On the other hand, it labels China as a rival."
"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 in its statement. "Therefore we can jointly build a global community with a shared future for mankind, featuring common prosperity and development."
Those criticisms were echoed by Hua Chunying, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Beijing. She said at a regular briefing Tuesday that the two nations had common goals and that they needed to be respectful of each others' interests.
"It is futile for any country to distort the facts or to smear China," Hua said. "We urge the U.S. side to stop distorting China's strategic intentions and to abandon Cold War thinking and a zero-sum mindset, otherwise it would only harm both sides."
Trump has cultivated a warm relationship with China's president, Xi Jinping, as he tries to enlist Beijing's help to confront the nuclear ambitions of North Korea, China's longtime ally. But that relationship has been tested by Trump's efforts to reduce the trade imbalance with China, with the United States expected to impose tariffs on products such as Chinese solar panels in the coming months.
The United States and China share one of the world's biggest trading relationships and cooperate in areas including clean energy and public health. But Beijing sees Washington as an obstacle to its ambitions to be East Asia's dominant power, and strains over Taiwan, trade, technology policy and the South China Sea are growing.
"It is selfish to put your national interest above other countries' interest and the mutual interest of the international community," the Chinese Embassy said.
"The Chinese side is willing to have peaceful coexistence with all countries," said the embassy statement. "The United States should also adapt and accept China's development."
U.S. officials are uneasy about Beijing's rising military spending -- already the second-highest behind Washington. They see Xi's "Belt and Road Initiative," a project to build railways and other infrastructure across countries from Asia to Europe and Africa, as part of efforts to erode American influence and nurture a China-centered political structure.
Especially sensitive is Taiwan, the democratic island Beijing has declared a "core interest" over which it will go to war, if necessary.
Trump's report promises to "maintain our strong ties with Taiwan" and provide for its "legitimate defense needs."
China has taken a tougher stance toward Taiwan since last year's election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to endorse Beijing's contention that Taiwan is part of the Chinese nation. Chinese commentators speculate on the possible need for military steps to put pressure on Tsai.
After Trump signed a law this month that opened the way for U.S. Navy ships to visit Taiwan, a Chinese diplomat quoted by state media said the mainland would attack the day that happened.
Hua urged Washington to stick to diplomatic commitments on how to handle Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a report released Tuesday that the United States is reliant on China and other nations for the overwhelming majority of critical minerals used for manufacturing everything from smartphones to wind turbines and cars.
The report says the U.S. relies on foreign sources for a majority of all but two of the 23 minerals identified as critical. The minerals are produced in China, Russia, South Africa, Brazil and other countries.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke called the report troubling and said the reliance of imported minerals, especially by the military, poses a "very real national security risk."
"We are vulnerable as a nation," Zinke added.
"It is time for the U.S. to take a leading position" on critical minerals such as platinum, manganese and rare-earth elements, Zinke told reporters at a briefing. "'America first' includes critical minerals," he added.
Information for this article was contributed by Andrew E. Kramer of The New York Times and by Matthew Daly, Joe McDonald and Yu Bing of The Associated Press.
A Section on 12/20/2017