- Trump will meet Xi in South Korea to finalize a trade deal and end the tariff war.
- He says he is willing to meet with North Korea's Kim during his regional trip.
- Everything ready to sign the peace agreement 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 his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
Trump will meet Xi in South Korea on the final day of his regional tour in a bid to seal a deal to end the painful trade war between the world's two largest economies.
As he left Washington, Trump added to speculation that he might 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 deals.
“We will sign the peace agreement immediately upon our arrival,” Trump said on social media of the truce he helped broker after the deadliest clashes between Thailand and Cambodia in decades.
Trump said he hoped to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit to improve ties 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 emirate, which is among the guarantors of the Trump-led Gaza ceasefire agreement.
After Malaysia, Trump is expected to visit Tokyo on Monday, where he will meet with new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi the next day.
The American leader said he had heard “great things about her” and praised the fact that she was an acolyte of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom she had close ties.
Takaichi said he told Trump in a phone call Saturday that “strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance is my administration's top priority on the diplomatic and security front.”
The American leader said he had heard “great things about her” and praised the fact that she was an acolyte of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom she had close ties.
Takaichi said he told Trump in a phone call Saturday that “strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance is my administration's top priority on the diplomatic and security front.”
Japan has escaped the worst of the tariffs Trump imposed on countries around the world to end what he calls unfair trade balances that are “ripping off America.”
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 with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
On Thursday, global markets will be watching to see if the meeting with Xi can stop the trade war sparked by Trump's sweeping tariffs, especially after a recent dispute over Beijing's rare earths restrictions.
Trump initially threatened to cancel the meeting and announced new 100 percent tariffs during that dispute, before saying he would go ahead after all.
South Korea's reunification minister has said there is a “considerable” possibility that Trump and North Korea's Kim will also meet.
The two leaders last met at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas during Trump's first term.
Kim has said he would also be willing to meet with the US president if Washington drops its demand that Pyongyang abandon its nuclear arsenal.
