Trump's Security Strategy Casts Allies as Tools to Counter China

President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy frames America’s allies as instruments to preserve U.S. dominance and counter China’s rise, analysts say. The strategy urges wealthy allies to spend more on defense. It also calls for them to align more closely with Washington on policies like export controls and to take greater responsibility for their own regions. This approach represents a shift. It recasts long-standing alliances as direct tools for "great-power competition," a term for rivalry between major nations. The 33-page document declares that the era of assuming engagement with rivals would turn them into benign partners is over. It identifies China and Russia as competitors challenging American power and influence.