President Donald Trump is shifting his attention to key allies Japan and South Korea as his Asia tour enters its next phase, with trade, regional security and military cooperation expected to top his agenda this week.
Trump’s five-day Asia tour will include talks with Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo and a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the final stop in South Korea.
The trip comes at a time of renewed uncertainty in the region, with North Korea ramping up missile tests and China asserting greater control in the South China Sea.
Economic ties are expected to play a central role in Trump’s meetings, with trade imbalances, technology cooperation and energy security topping the agenda. The administration has signaled an interest in expanding semiconductor and critical minerals partnerships with Japan and South Korea to counter China’s dominance in global supply chains.
The Trump administration said Sunday that the world’s two largest economies are close to reaching an agreement to avert a new 100% U.S. tariff on Chinese goods, with both sides expected to meet in person soon.
‘President Trump gave me a great deal of negotiating leverage with the threat of the 100% tariffs, and I believe we’ve reached a very substantial framework that will avoid that and allow us to discuss many other things with the Chinese,’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’
Before heading north, Trump began his trip in Malaysia, where he was greeted with traditional music and dancing, even joining performers in celebration.
He also oversaw the signing of a peace agreement between Cambodia and Thailand on Sunday, a development viewed as a key step in reducing regional tensions and bolstering U.S. diplomatic influence in Southeast Asia.
As part of the agreement, Thailand agreed to release 18 Cambodian soldiers held captive and for both countries to begin removing heavy artillery from their shared border. The Thai prime minister called the signing of a ceasefire deal ‘the building blocks for a lasting peace,’ and Cambodia’s prime minister described the events as a ‘historic day.’
‘We did something that a lot of people said couldn’t be done,’ Trump said.
The White House has framed the trip as a showcase of Trump’s foreign policy approach: ending conflicts, striking deals and reasserting U.S. leadership abroad.