Mongolian Defense Minister Nyamaagiin Enkhbold presented the animal to Esper (File)

As Defense Secretary Mark Esper shook hands inside the Mongolian Defense Ministry, a 7-year-old horse the color of salted caramel stood just outside the building, his long tail swaying over the pavement.

The gentle steed, less than five feet tall, probably had no idea what was about to happen. If he did, he wasn't talking.

The horse became a four-legged symbol of an effort to deepen ties between the United States and Mongolia, as the Trump administration seeks to prepare for Beijing's growing influence and ambitions across the world.

Mongolian Defense Minister Nyamaagiin Enkhbold presented the animal to Esper on Thursday as a ceremonial gift, in keeping with a Mongolian tradition for dignitaries that goes back many years. Esper accepted with thanks and said he wanted to name the "fine-looking horse" Marshall, after the late Army general who went on to serve as both defense secretary and secretary of state after World War II.

"He's happy," Esper said with a smile, as the stocky creature nodded his head up and down and the clickity-clack of cameras filled the air. "He likes his name."

But Esper wasn't there to see a man about a horse.

The event was a lighter moment in a trip in which Esper has crisscrossed the Pacific, renewing partnerships with visits to countries that include Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Esper, who was confirmed as defense secretary last month, has expressed a desire to out-compete China globally. He said last week that he wants the Pentagon to build missiles with conventional warheads that can be placed somewhere in Asia to counter Beijing's arsenal.

In Mongolia, Esper was greeted at the Defense Ministry by an honor guard of Mongolian soldiers dressed in ornate purple and red uniforms adorned with gold trim. They wore helmets with a sharp point on the top, recalling the empire founded by Genghis Khan that spanned much of Asia in the 1200s.

"It is my deep privilege to be here, to be with you and to have the opportunity to look at different ways we can further strengthen the ties between our two countries," Esper said at the outset of a meeting with Mongolian officials.

In accepting the horse, the defense secretary told the story of an Army officer who commanded an infantry regiment in China during the 1920s. The officer, Esper said, sought out Mongolian horses because he had heard the short but powerful animals were the best in the region.

"As the story goes, a young lieutenant who was under his command disciplined by striking a horse that was a little stubborn," Esper said. "The Army officer punished the lieutenant because he had such high regard for Mongolian horses."

Esper revealed that the officer he was describing was Marshall, and that he and Marshall grew up in the same town (Uniontown, Pennsylvania.). Marshall, the author of the ambitious plan that helped rejuvenate Europe after World War II, "was not only a great warrior, but a great peacemaker," Esper added. Horses have been revered in Mongolia for centuries. The country's breed is shorter than most found in America and appreciated for the horses' strength and resiliency in cold weather.

Esper presented a few gifts of his own to the Mongolians. The caretaker of the horse accepted a black blanket from the Army's "Old Guard," the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment that maintains a stable of horses that are used in funerals at Arlington National Cemetery.

The visit marks the second meeting between high officials of Mongolia and the Trump administration in recent days, following a visit to Washington last week by Mongolian President Battulga Khaltmaa. In that case, President Donald Trump's 13-year-old son, Barron, was gifted a horse, although it remained behind in Mongolia. Trump named it "Victory."

Marshall also will remain behind in Mongolia. Many of the animals graze freely on foothills outside the capital.