- Trump to meet Xi in South Korea to finalize trade deal, end tariff war.
- He says he is open to meeting North Korea’s Kim during a regional trip.
- They are ready to sign a Thai-Cambodian peace agreement upon their 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 his 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 seal a deal to end the bruising trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
As he left Washington, Trump added to speculation 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 that.”
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 deals.
“We will sign the Peace Agreement as soon as we arrive,” Trump said on social media of the truce he helped broker after the deadliest clashes between Thailand and Cambodia in decades.
Trump said he expected to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit to improve ties with the leftist leader after months of animosity.
During a refueling stop in Qatar on the way from Washington, the US president met with leaders of the Gulf emirate, which is 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 next day.
The US leader said he had heard “great things about her” and welcomed the fact that she was an associate of slain former prime minister Shinzo Abe, with whom he had close ties.
Takaichi said she told Trump in a phone call on 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 welcomed the fact that she was an associate of slain former prime minister Shinzo Abe, with whom he had close ties.
Takaichi said she told Trump in a phone call on Saturday that “strengthening the Japan-US alliance is my administration’s top priority on the diplomatic and security front.”
Japan has been spared the worst tariffs Trump has slapped 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 returning to power.
Trump is due to land in the southern port 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 stop the trade war sparked by Trump’s sweeping tariffs, especially after a recent spat over Beijing’s rare earth restrictions.
Trump initially threatened to cancel the meeting and announced the new 100 percent tariffs during that row, before saying he would eventually go ahead.
South Korea’s reunification minister said there was a “significant” possibility that Trump and North Korea’s Kim could also meet.
The two leaders last met at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas during Trump’s first term.
Kim said he would also be open to meeting the US president if Washington dropped its demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear arsenal.
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