WASHINGTON (AP) — Two of President Donald Trump’s top national security aides will visit India for meetings focused largely on countering China’s growing global influence. As the bitter race between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden winds down, the talks this week in New Delhi aim to reinforce the president’s anti-China campaign message.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper are to meet their Indian counterparts for strategic and security talks on Tuesday, after which Pompeo will travel on to Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia. All of them are contending with a tug-of-war between Washington and Beijing that has intensified as Trump seeks to paint Biden as weak on China.
