Pompeo pushes to curb China and Russia in Europe

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began on Tuesday a key tour of Europe with a wide-ranging economic and political agenda. While he will be in the centre and east of the continent, the real focus of the trip is China and Russia.

Mr Pompeo said in a visit to the region last year that Moscow and Beijing pose twin threats to the democratic and economic gains made there since the end of the Cold War. So the trip - which includes stop-offs in the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, and Slovenia - has a dual agenda to mitigate Russian and Chinese economic and political influence there.

On Russia, one key theme of his tour is eastward redeployment of US troops in Europe. This follows confirmation last week that the Trump team will permanently station 1,000 additional troops in Poland, bringing the total US contingent there to 5,500, only days after the Pentagon formally announced plans to withdraw 12,000 from Germany.