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U.S. President Donald Trump will embark on a major trip to Asia this week, departing Friday (October 24) with all eyes on a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping scheduled for October 30 that might have huge implications for the global economy.
Trump said Wednesday he was making a "big trip" to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first visit to the region since he returned to the White House in a blaze of tariffs and geopolitical brinkmanship.
The highlight will be his talks with Xi in South Korea, which the White House confirmed will take place on October 30 on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Trump had previously threatened to scrap the meeting amid a flare-up in the trade war between Washington and Beijing, but he said Wednesday he now hopes for a "deal on everything."
The meeting in South Korea, which is hosting the APEC summit, will be the first face-to-face for the leaders since Trump returned to power in January. The two have spoken at least three times this year, most recently in September. Trump and Xi last met in person in 2019, during Trump's first White House term.
Trump has long said direct talks with Xi are the best way to resolve lingering issues between the countries, including tariffs, export curbs, agricultural purchases, fentanyl trafficking and geopolitical flashpoints such as Taiwan.
The U.S. president has touted his relationship with Xi, but that rapport will be tested following weeks of escalating tensions between the economic superpowers. Trump earlier this month floated the possibility of scrapping the meeting altogether amid anger over Chinese export curbs on rare-earth minerals.
The meeting comes as a trade truce between Washington and China is set to expire on November 10, unless it is extended. The pause on higher tariffs, which has already been renewed multiple times this year, helped ease tensions after the countries ratcheted duties up to sky-high levels. That détente has been threatened by a fresh wave of trade measures in recent weeks.
Trump will leave Washington on Friday (October 24) and arrive Sunday (October 26) in Malaysia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, a meeting Trump skipped several times in his first term.
Trump is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and attend an ASEAN leaders' dinner Sunday evening. He is set to ink a trade deal with Malaysia and oversee the signing of a peace accord between Thailand and Cambodia.
"President Trump is keen to see the more positive results of the peace negotiations between Thailand and Cambodia," Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently said.
Trump's next stop will be Tokyo on Tuesday (October 28), and he will meet conservative Sanae Takaichi, named this week as Japan's first woman prime minister, on Wednesday. Japan has "escaped the worst of the tariffs" that Trump slapped on countries around the world to end what he calls unfair trade balances that are "ripping off the United States."
The climax of the trip is expected to be in Busan, South Korea, where Trump is scheduled to arrive Wednesday (October 29). Trump will meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, address an APEC lunch with business leaders and meet U.S. tech bosses for dinner, the White House said.
The next day, Thursday, October 30, Trump will meet Xi for the first time since his return to office.
The U.S. has broadened tech restrictions on China, floated levies on Chinese ships at U.S. ports and is also considering additional export limits on a wide swath of critical software.
Beijing, in turn, has outlined tighter export controls on rare earths and other critical minerals used in a broad range of industries, including technology, energy and transportation.
Trump has threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese products on November 1 if Beijing does not relent on the rare-earth curbs, even as he has said that the high levies are "not sustainable." Those Chinese curbs have sparked international backlash, prompting other economies to seek alternative supply chains for those minerals and to consider retaliation.
Trump has predicted in recent days that talks with Xi will produce a "good deal" on "everything" related to trade, touting his "great relationship" with the Chinese leader.
Global markets will be watching closely to see whether the two leaders can halt the trade war between the world's two biggest economies, especially after a recent row over Beijing's rare-earth curbs.
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