Russia, China decry ‘America First’ plan

Russia slammed President Trump’s new national security strategy on Tuesday as “imperialist,” as China decried it for fostering a “Cold War mentality.”

The Trump administration a day earlier unveiled a security paper, based on the president’s “America First” agenda, that accused Moscow of meddling in other countries’ internal affairs.

“A quick read of the parts of the strategy that mention our country . . . [shows] an imperialist character,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Reuters.

The strategy paper did not cite specific accusations from American security agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 US election, but it reflected a long-held view by US diplomats that the Kremlin undermines American in- terests at home and abroad.

Trump has touted the benefits of improving relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, even though the Kremlin has frustrated US policy in Syria and Ukraine and done little to aid Washington in its standoff with North Korea.

Chinese foreign-ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said of the brief: “We urge the United States to stop intentionally distorting China’s strategic intentions and to abandon outdated notions such as the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game, otherwise it will only harm itself or others.”

The 68-page file accuses China of seeking “to displace the United States” in Asia, stealing US data and spreading “features of its authoritarian system.”