- Trump meets Xi in South Korea to finalize trade deal, end tariff war.
- Says he is open to meeting North Korea’s Kim during a regional trip.
- All set to sign peace treaty between Thailand and Cambodia upon arrival in Asia.
US President Donald Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday on the first leg of an Asian tour that will include high-stakes trade talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Trump is set to meet Xi in South Korea on the final day of his regional swing in a bid to strike a deal that ends the bruising trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
As he left Washington, Trump added to speculation that he could meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time since 2019 while on the Korean Peninsula, saying he was “open to it”.
The US president will also visit Japan on his first trip to Asia since returning to the White House in January amid a flurry of tariffs and international agreements.
“We will sign the peace agreement immediately upon arrival,” Trump said on social media of the ceasefire he helped broker after the deadliest clashes between Thailand and Cambodia in decades.
Trump said he expected to meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit to improve relations with the leftist leader after months of bad blood.
During a refueling stop in Qatar on his way from Washington, the US president met with leaders of the Gulf Emirates, which are among the guarantors of the Gaza ceasefire agreement led by Trump.
After Malaysia, Trump is expected in Tokyo on Monday, where he will meet Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi the following day.
The US leader said he had heard “great things about her” and hailed the fact that she was a close associate of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom he had close ties.
Takaichi said she told Trump in a phone call Saturday that “strengthening the Japan-US alliance is my administration’s top priority on the diplomatic and security front”.
The US leader said he had heard “great things about her” and hailed the fact that she was a close associate of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom he had close ties.
Takaichi said she told Trump in a phone call Saturday that “strengthening the Japan-US alliance is my administration’s top priority on the diplomatic and security front”.
Japan has escaped the worst tariffs Trump imposed on countries around the world to end what he calls unfair trade balances that are “tearing the United States apart.”
The highlight of the trip is expected to be South Korea, where Trump will meet Xi for the first time since his return to office.
Trump will land in the southern port city of Busan on Wednesday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and will meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
On Thursday, global markets will be watching closely to see if the meeting with Xi can halt the trade war sparked by Trump’s sweeping tariffs, especially after a recent spat over Beijing’s rare earth limits.
Trump initially threatened to cancel the meeting and announced the new 100 percent tariffs below that range, before saying he would go ahead anyway.
South Korea’s unification minister has said there is a “significant” chance Trump and North Korea’s Kim will also meet.
The two leaders last met at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas during Trump’s first term.
Kim has said he would also be open to meeting the US president if Washington drops its demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear arsenal.
