Mr. Trump arrives in Japan, 'warming up' before the key summit with Mr. Xi Jinping
On the morning of October 27, US President Donald Trump left Malaysia for Japan, the second stop on his tour of Asia.
The focus of the trip is a highly anticipated summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea this weekend, aimed at ending the US-China trade war.
According to Reuters and AFP, President Donald Trump has kicked off his first trip to Asia since returning to the White House in January. The trip comes as negotiators from the world's two largest economies are racing to reach an agreement to avoid imposing additional 100% tariffs scheduled to take effect on November 1.
Positive signals from both Washington and Beijing over the weekend helped the market to be optimistic. In the morning trading session on October 27, Japan's Nikkei index surpassed the 50,000 point mark for the first time.
The highlight of the entire trip is expected to take place in the port city of Busan (South Korea) on October 30, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. This will be where Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi Jinping will have their first face-to-face meeting since Mr. Trump returned to power.
Global observers will be closely watching whether the meeting can bring a full end to the trade war, especially after the recent dispute over Beijing's restrictions on rare earth exports.
Ahead of the meeting, the signs were very positive. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng had two days of negotiations. Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang said the two sides had reached a "preliminary consensus".
Minister Bessent also confirmed to ABC that additional tariffs (100%) had been averted, and said a deal on rare earths and US soybean exports had been agreed. "It will be great for China, and great for us," Mr Trump told reporters in Kuala Lumpur before leaving.
Stopover in Japan: Security and Trade
In Tokyo, Mr. Trump is expected to have an audience with Emperor Naruhito before having an official meeting on October 28 with the new Japanese Prime Minister, Ms. Sanae Takaichi.
Ms Takaichi, who became Japan's first female prime minister last week, was a close ally of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had a warm personal relationship with Mr Trump. Mr Trump praised Ms Takaichi as "terrific" and a successor to Mr Abe's legacy.
For her part, Ms. Takaichi assured Mr. Trump that strengthening the Japan-US alliance is her administration's "top diplomatic and security priority." Tokyo is expected to commit to new investments, including the purchase of pickup trucks, soybeans and natural gas from the United States. In addition, the new prime minister is also expected to reassure Mr. Trump of Tokyo's willingness to spend more on security, accelerating plans to increase the defense budget to 2% of GDP.
Tokyo has deployed thousands of police to ensure security for the visit.
"Big success" in Malaysia
Trump's first stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was marked by a series of agreements. In a post on the social network Truth Social, Trump wrote: "Just left Malaysia, a wonderful and vibrant country. Signed major Trade and Rare Earth Agreements, and yesterday, most importantly, signed the Peace Treaty between Thailand and Cambodia. No war! Millions of lives saved."
This was Mr Trump's first visit as president to Kuala Lumpur. He received a red carpet welcome with two Malaysian F-18s as escorts.
On the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, Mr. Trump also held bilateral meetings, including mending relations with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. In another development, Mr. Trump also left open the possibility of meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while he is on the Korean Peninsula. "I'm open to that possibility," he said. The two leaders last met in 2019 at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).