Trump’s Asia tour: the stakes, the stops, the sticking points

Trump’s Asia tour: the stakes, the stops, the sticking points

In the coming week, President Trump will:

🟠 attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, meeting with the leaders of Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, plus President Lula of Brazil, with whom he will discuss trade, tariffs and the US buildup off Venezuela

🟠 travel to Tokyo on Monday for a three-day visit during which he’ll talk trade, investment and tariffs with Sanae Takaichi, the new Japanese prime minister, and be feted by the emperor

🟠 fly out to South Korea on Wednesday for talks President Lee Jae-myung, focused mostly on similar economic issues. Trump has also expressed openness to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the Demilitarized Zone

🟠 meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday in South Korea at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit to talk tariff and rare earth-fueled trade tensions

Crucial trip, critical juncture

“This is one of the riskiest trips any president of the United States has taken,” longtime Trump ally and former White House strategist Steve Bannon said of the Asia visit, characterizing it as “as high stakes as it gets” as the US and China stand on the brink of all-out economic warfare.

🟠 In Japan and South Korea, too, a lot is riding on the countries’ readiness to commit to hefty $550B and $350B pledges to invest in the US in return for tariff relief.

🟠 As for North Korea, a meeting with Kim – which would be the first of its kind since 2019, ratcheting down tensions on the Korean Peninsula would depend on US willingness to accept the DPRK’s nuclear status.

🟠 Trump was also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ASEAN summit. Modi, however, is participating virtually this year, while discussions between Washington and New Delhi continue over sanctions and restrictions on Russian oil imports.

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